Words: The Karr Report.
(Karr does an epic job keeping us all interested in the Ducati Cup…. erm…. ermm…. MotoGP (yawn), so if you like reading her passionate and entertaining reports on the races please support her on her patreon link: https://www.patreon.com/KarrbonCopy)
Pics: MotoGP.com
Phillip Island was unusually sunny on Sunday, though the weekend started off in the typical wet and windy fashion. Truckloads of action made up for us having to get up way too early for two mornings in a row. And, just to add to the fun, the track had been resurfaced in something that appears to feed off of tyres… Just ask the WorldSBK guys – they were forced into a mandatory pit stop because their tyres couldn’t cope…
Moto3:
We love local boy Roulstone’s Mick Doohan replica helmet. Full marks. Nepa’s membership to the Dawdler’s Club earned him two go’s at the Long Lap Loop this weekend. By the second lap, Almansa slid off at Turn Six, then attempted a quick remount. A lap later we lost Ogden to Turn Nine; yet another lap after that, it was Farioli’s turn to crash, who chose Turn Twelve as his landing site.
Apart from all the falling that was happening, there was a raging battle at the front, a good seventeen riders strong, and it was glorious. Many a corner saw four or more bikes trying to go through at the same time, but avoiding total catastrophe…. Somehow. Which was a miracle in itself, as paint was being swapped like it was Pokémon cards.
Adding to Nepa’s chaotic day, his teammate Carraro clattered into the side of him going into Turn Four on the seventh lap. Nepa appeared to have suction cups on his tyres, and continued onwards with nigh a flinch. Carraro, on the other hand, went tumbling off the track, trailing sparks.
While navigating through Turn Four on the twelfth lap, Veijer and Ortolá had a coming-together, apparently sponsored by Piqueras. Contact was made between Piqueras and Veijer, after which the Dutchman clattered into Ortolá and both riders went flying off the track. Both also rushed to remount, Veijer continuing his race while Ortolá limped to his pit garage for an early drink. After the race, Veijer would visit Ortolá’s box, and the two agreed upon blaming Piqueras entirely for the incident.
After a race through which the lead changed gloves so many times, we had trouble keeping up, Alonso hit the front and pulled off into the distance during the final laps, claiming his eleventh Moto 3 race win and thus equalling Valentino Rossi’s record from 1997. Second and third was decided by a photo finish, Holgado coming out on top and clenching second, while Fernández snatched third.
During his cool down lap, Alonso had a bit of trouble restarting his dead bike, and eventually had to take a KTM taxi to Parc Fermé. He arrived in Parc Fermé almost late for his interview, with a bandage around his head as a tribute to Rossi’s eleventh-win celebration all those years ago. You cannot not love this kid.
Moto2:
Chantra was still recovering from his injury, but is hoping to be fit for his home race in Thailand. After a crash in practice, Vietti was ruled out with a fractured collarbone, while Roberts suffered a fractured scaphoid due to a Practice Two highside.
Another splendid local replica helmet was donned by Agius, this time honouring HIS hero, Casey Stoner. Again, full marks.
Less penalties were awarded than we’d expected, with Öncü having to drop 3 positions for his first slow-riding offence, while González had to serve one Long Lap Penalty for his fourth. Moreira had a Moment with his visor while waiting on the grid. Just two corners into the race, Dixon was allegedly pushed wide, whereafter he and Foggia went skidding over the grass. Dixon limped away quite dramatically shortly after. Masià fell at Turn Eight on Lap Eleven, while Sasaki dropped out of the race by Lap Eighteen at the second corner.
At the front, the duo of Canet and Aldeguer eventually made a clean getaway, leaving the rest behind. Not least of which was López, who found himself in a very, very lonely third. That is, until he crashed three laps short of completing the race, slipping out of third and off the track, seemingly superglued to his handlebars.
Aldeguer and Canet decided to give each and every one of their fans a mini-heart attack as they went at one another during the final lap, neither wanting to give up the victory without a fight, which saw them – literally – leaning on one another going through Turn Ten. That should’ve been a massive crash, yet it wasn’t…. How? The result of that aggressive, lean-to pass by Aldeguer was a race victory for him, and another second place for Canet.
López’s late tumble had promoted local Aussie star, Agius, into third. Something he and the crowd could not have been more elated about. It wasn’t just a home podium for Senna, but his maiden Moto2 podium at that. Such was Agius’ excitement that he, after receiving his flag, ‘crashed’ on the cooldown lap – grabbing a little too much throttle, Agius did a one-eighty spin on the far-from-dry grass, and had to pick up his now horizontal bike before he could try pulling away again. Meanwhile, our Darryn managed a quiet twelfth.
MotoGP:
Marini’s become a dad. Congratulations, Luca!
Sprint Race:
The first Sprint Race to be run around Phillip Island was cloudy, cold, gusty, but – importantly – dry. If you were in doubt as to how cold it was on Saturday, Jack Miller was wearing a jacket thicker than an angora sheep’s coat while on the grid. And he’s a local fella. The first few laps of the race were filled with overtaking action, but no massive incidents otherwise.
Zarco became our first casualty, crashing at Turn Nine during the sixth lap. Around the same time as Zarco, Márquez – Junior – fell off at Turn Four. Local hero Miller had to do the Walk of Shame when he, too, ate gravel on Lap Eight. From Lap Eleven, it all went off. Meaning, riders went off one after another in a string of chaotic crashes. Acosta started it all when his GasGas machine whipped him out of the seat at the sixth turn, leaving him crawling about in the gravel on all-fours until he regained composure.
However! The most spectacular crash came at the start of Lap Twelve when Viñales passed Bezzecchi on the way into Turn One. As Viñales moved back onto the racing line, Bezzecchi seemed to be sucked into his slipstream, and no amount of braking was going to get him out of it. Aero needs moving air to work, after all, and there he was, in a huge hole punched by another motorcycle. In the blink of an eye, he’d bashed into the rear of Viñales’ Aprilia, and a great plume of sparks erupted from the interlocking bikes. Sparks, parts, bikes and riders went flying, and barrelling, through the kitty litter. It was a scene that wouldn’t have looked out of place in an action movie. Viñales managed to hop to his feet very quickly, shooting off a quick middle-finger salute, while the battered Bezzecchi was eventually loaded on a stretcher. The latter attempted to sit up on said stretcher while being carried off, and was later seen being scootered back to the pits in convoy with Viñales. *Bez would later be taken to a local hospital, complaining of pain. Updates are pending.
Not long after the Bez-on-Mav mayhem, Binder slipped up (or is that off?) at Turn Four, ending up trackside with his hands raised in that universal ‘what the fu…dge’ pose. Martín, having run off into the distance, claimed victory, while Márquez (Marc this time) got second, and Bastianini third. After the podium formalities, Martín bolted with the Prosecco much like he’d done with the race lead, this time aiming for the pack of media-people. They scattered like seagulls, Martín pursued. Behind him, the other two had done much the same with their teams – Good times.
Main Race:
No Acosta in the main race – his whipping in the Sprint Race had some painful-sounding injuries as a result. Get better soon, Baby Shark. Bezzecchi and Márquez Junior both started the race with a Long Lap Penalty due, each for their own misdemeanours.
As the lights went out, we thought – for a split second – that Marc Márquez’s Ducati had exploded. It soon became clear that he was doing an involuntary burnout off the line, and quite a lot of head-scratching later it came to light what had caused the smokescreen: upon arrival on the grid after the Warm Up Lap, Marc had pulled off a tear-off, tossing it aside…. Or so he thought. He then noticed it blowing back towards him, tried to shoo it away, failed, but had no more time to locate it and remove it. The flags had already exited stage left. And that’s the story of how his own tear-off got lodged under Márquez’s rear wheel, giving us an entertaining start to the race. Post-race, Marc would note that he never usually removes a tear-off while on the grid, but this time he saw a ‘big spot’ and simply couldn’t ignore it. What are the odds?
On Lap Five, just one lap after serving his Long Lap Penalty, Bezzecchi plopped down at the very corner where the Long Lap resides. He went about assaulting the grass in his frustration; Bez, bud, it’s not the greenery’s fault…
After overtaking under a waving Yellow Flag, Marini was instructed to drop a position. From around Lap Twelve, there raged a decent fight amongst the top three for the top spots. Eventually, though, Martín ran off with the lead, forcing Bagnaia and Márquez (Marc) to chase after him while still tangling with each other.
Bez and Viñales had gone down, part of Bezzecchi’s Ducati’s fender, or fairing, had stayed on the track, ready to whack Salvadori in the arm when he went past.For a while, everything looked a little tame; Bagnaia had dropped off the edge of the earth, leaving Marc and Martín to run around in tandem.
It was on Lap Twenty-four that Márquez (Senior) finally launched a proper attack on Martín, taking the lead from him. Martín wasn’t about to relent just like that, and fought back, regaining the lead only to lose it again. More than once. At some point, Mir crashed. It was at Turn Four, on Lap Twenty-six, apparently. Everything and everyone was focused on the Marc- Martín scuffle at the time. It was an ecstatic Marc Márquez who came through as the victor, leaving Martín in second. A long cup of coffee later, Bagnaia crossed the line to take third.
Later, it was shoeys all ‘round on the podium, whereafter Bagnaia began stripping, tossing his boots and knee sliders into the roaring crowd. Opting to keep their footwear, Marc and Martín also catapulted their sliders into the masses.
Binder, having kept himself well within the fight for fourth through to eighth or so, finished in seventh.
Three rounds left, and two Champions still to be crowned. May the fights be epic to the end!
