Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing) usurped Jorge Martin’s (Prima Pramac Racing) lead in the closing stages of the race to take his third victory of the season in spectacular fashion around the Phillip Island circuit.
Martin was leading the race comfortably until Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) arrived on the scene, igniting a three-way battle that saw Marquez prevail.
Bagnaia settled for third place, falling behind the two speedy Spaniards as his tyre performance dropped off after their intense battle.
Martin’s second place finish left him a much-needed 20-point gap to Bagnaia in the riders’ standings with just three rounds to go in the 2024 season.
A perfect weekend for Marquez saw him redeem poor starts in both the sprint and feature race, earning a crucial victory that bumps him up to third in the championship.
It was a tricky start for Marquez, spinning off the line due to a tear-off sticker getting stuck under his rear tyre as he tried to pull away.
Marquez tumbled down the order on the opening lap, but made up a handful of places by Lap 5 where he was already in full contention for the win.
A far better start for Martin saw him fly away into clean air and lead the pack comfortably for most of the race until the Ducati riders showed up.
By Lap 10, the three-way battle for the victory was set in motion as Bagnaia made his way up to second place with Marquez following close behind.
Chaos unfolded on Lap 13 when Bagnaia traded places with Martin for the lead, before Martin pulled one back on the Italian just two corners later.
Bagnaia briefly held onto second place before Marquez swooped in and squeezed around the Italian on a tight left-hander.
The trio managed to pull five seconds away from the rest of the grid before Bagnaia’s pace started to fall short of the two Spaniards.
Martin and Marquez were running a full second faster each lap than the rest of the grid as their battle for the victory raged on.
After waiting patiently Marc Marquez finally pulled off the move on Martin around a tight left-hander, but Martin retook the lead a few corners after.
Then Marquez took a risky lunge down the outside of Martin for the lead of the race, and cruised to his third victory of the season.
RIDER OF THE DAY: MARC MARQUEZ
After a crazy start saw him tumble down the order due to a tear-off, Marquez came back in full force to claim the victory.
His pace has been excellent this weekend around the Phillip Island circuit, being the only one to truly match Martin.
It was expected for Marquez to be in the battle for the podium, but he took it a step further and forced his way to the lead.
The six-time world champion put up a great fight with Bagnaia, jumping the Italian rider around a tight left-hander in the midst of a three-way battle for second place.
He used this momentum to challenge Martin, managing his tyres perfectly until the last moment where he was able to squeeze around the championship leader.
Marquez showed off exactly why he is a six-time world champion, being the fastest and boldest rider on track.
WHERE THE RACE WAS WON AND LOST
1/27 MARTIN FLIES AWAY – Jorge Martin launched off the line to lead the pack into clean air as Marc Marquez tumbled down the order due to a tear-off sticking to his rear tyre.
6/27 MARTIN LEADS BUT THE TWO HUNTERS CHASE – Francesco Bagnaia has fought his way to second place while Marc Marquez is back into the podium positions after jumping Franco Morbidelli.
13/27 THREE-WAY BATTLE AT THE FRONT – Bagnaia traded places with Martin for the lead before Martin pulled one back on the Italian, allowing Marquez to jump Bagnaia for second place.
20/27 FIGHT FOR THE WIN – Marquez is devastatingly close to Martin heading into the tight hairpins around the Phillip Island circuit but Bagnaia falls behind the two Spaniards.
27/27 MARQUEZ USURPS MARTIN’S VICTORY – Marc Marquez finally pulled off the move on Jorge Martin around a tight left-hander and cruised to victory.
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