Andrea Dovizioso has taken a thrilling victory after a last-corner shoot-out with Marc Marquez at the Austrian GP
The Mission Winnow Ducati rider hadn’t won a race since the opening round in Qatar, as Repsol Honda’s Marquez made hay with the championship, taking wins and second places. At the deceptively simple drag-strip/hard-braking 4.318-km track outside Spielberg, the pair spent the full race distance inches apart.
After trailing Marquez for the majority of the race, Dovizioso powered past on the front straight on lap 19 of 28. Marquez slotted in behind poised to mount his challenge. Marquez made his move on the start of the final lap, regaining the lead. Dovizioso waited until the final corner before diving up the inside of Marquez.
They were so close though the final corner that the Honda’s brake-lever protector hooked onto the Ducati, and “I went with him for a bit,” said Marquez, who expected they would both crash … before luckily it snapped off. That incident pushed Marquez wide, and he was unable to try for a final sprint over the line.
Rookie Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha), who led the first five laps, and then gapped the pursuing factory Monster Yamaha of Valentino Rossi to take third.
Maverick Vinales (Monster Yamaha), qualified fourth, had dropped to seventh by lap two. He was ahead of Rins by the sixth and brought the Suzuki with him as he steadily worked away at catching Rossi. For the final nine laps, Rossi had his hands full fending off his team-mate. Vinales got to within a couple of tenths, but by the finish, Rossi was almost a second ahead, helped because the Spaniard was busy defending a last-lap attack by Rins, only two hundredths adrift over the line.
Pecco Bagnaia (Pramac Ducati) was seventh, the Moto2 champion’s best yet in his first MotoGP season almost caught over the line by an equally best-yet rookie performance from Miguel Oliveira’s on the Red Bull KTM. Close behind was Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati) in ninth, followed by Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha) in tenth.
Pos. Points Num. Rider Nation Team Bike Km/h Time/Gap
1 25 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 183.2 39’34.771
2 20 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 183.2 +0.213
3 16 20 Fabio QUARTARARO FRA Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 182.8 +6.117
4 13 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 182.6 +7.719
5 11 12 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 182.6 +8.674
6 10 42 Alex RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 182.6 +8.695
7 9 63 Francesco BAGNAIA ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 182.0 +16.021
8 8 88 Miguel OLIVEIRA POR Red Bull KTM Tech 3 KTM 182.0 +16.206
9 7 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Ducati Team Ducati 181.9 +17.350
10 6 21 Franco MORBIDELLI ITA Petronas Yamaha SRT Yamaha 181.7 +20.510
11 5 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda 181.5 +22.273
12 4 5 Johann ZARCO FRA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 181.3 +25.503
13 3 6 Stefan BRADL GER Repsol Honda Team Honda 180.8 +31.962
14 2 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 180.6 +34.741
15 1 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 179.6 +48.109
Words Michael Scott
Pics GnG
