Jorge Martín throws away his victory in Australia in a disastrous last lap

The Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati Desmosedici GP23) achieved his first victory in the category by winning the Australian MotoGP Grand Prix that was held at the Phillip Island circuit, in which his teammate Jorge Martín (Ducati Desmosedici GP23) won. “committed suicide” with the choice of tires

Martín led the entire race, from the first to the last lap, in which the four riders behind him ended up overtaking him, with serious traction problems with the rear tire of his motorcycle.

Joined by Johann Zarco were the Italians Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia (Ducati Desmosedici GP23) and Fabio di Giannantonio (Ducati Desmosedici GP22) on the podium.

The race already lost one of its protagonists before the start, as the Spanish Alex Rins (Honda RC 213 V) felt a lot of discomfort in his right leg injured in Mugello (fracture of the tibia and fibula), which advised his non-participation, in addition to undergo a new CT (Computerized Axial Tomography) on the recommendation of the Medical Director of the competition, the Spanish Ángel Charte.

And the first surprise came from the author of the Pole position, the Spanish Jorge Martín, who was one of the few pilots, along with his compatriots Marc Márquez (Honda RC 213 V) and Pol Espargaró (Gas Gas RC 16), and the Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati Desmosedici GP22), who opted for the soft rear tire compound, while the rest of the drivers preferred to mount the intermediate rear tire.

It was a surprise because in addition to it being the long race, the grand prix, with 27 laps and not the sprint race – a change made due to the possibility that the atmospheric conditions would worsen noticeably on Sunday -, all the drivers recognized that the main strategy was going to be to conserve the tire and the softer it was, it was assumed, as it was, that it was worse.

And as soon as the red light went out, Jorge Martín took control of the race despite the fact that the South African Brad Binder (KTM RC 16) tried to put the bike on the inside, but the Spaniard withstood the pressure perfectly and began to pull. like a “possessed” to achieve a reassuring advantage.

Behind him, Binder, Bagnaia and the local idol Jack Miller (KTM RC 16), who in the end was seventh.

Marc Márquez (Honda RC 213 V) did not make a good start, but was able to complete the first lap in sixth position, despite starting seventh and losing a couple of positions when the traffic light went out.

As Marc Márquez did not make a good start either, the Spanish Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia RS-GP), who was fourth in the starting formation, fell to eighth, surpassed among others by the Italian Fabio di Giannantonio who, very ambitious, took just three turns to overtake Bagnaia and place third, in podium position.

At a fast lap pace in both the second and third laps, Jorge Martín escaped all his rivals, with Brad Binder one second behind in the third lap and a large group in which “Diggia” was already more than two behind. , Bagnaia, the Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati Desmosedici GP23), Marc Márquez, who surpassed him shortly after, Jack Miller, Aleix Espargaró, Alex Márquez (Ducati Desmosedici GP22), Pol Espargaró and Marco Bezzecchi.

But Zarco did not give up and attacked Marc Márquez, with whom he engaged in an intense fight for several laps that benefited Bagnaia when defending fourth place, while Jorge Martín gradually distanced himself from all his rivals.

With the first three positions quite consolidated with Jorge Martín, Brad Binder and Fabio Di Giannantonio, interest focused on the chasing octet, in which Bagnaia commanded ahead of Zarco and Márquez, who had to withstand the attacks of Aleix Espargaró.

Behind, the Spanish Joan Mir (Honda RC 213 V) was the first victim of the race when he crashed in turn four when he was fighting for position with the Italian Luca Marini (Ducati Desmosedici GP22), in an incident that He put the Race Direction Stewards Panel “under investigation” and it was resolved as a simple “race incident.”

At that same point where Joan Mir crashed, turn four, the also Spaniard Augusto Fernández (Gas Gas RC 16) finished in the same way, while ahead of him “Diggia” approached Brad Binder and in his wake An increasingly “grown” Bagnaia was put on, along with Johann Zarco.

Eleven laps from the end, on the sixteenth lap, Jorge Martín had an advantage of more than three seconds, the same one he accumulated in Indonesia before crashing, and on this occasion all interest was focused on whether the rear tire I would endure the effort.

Martín’s victory seemed unquestionable, but in the “screening” that occurred in the main group, Di Gianantonio, who surpassed Brad Binder, with Bagnaia and Zarco, and now without Marc Márquez, who had tire problems, was ahead. Like Martín, he lost several positions to fall to tenth place, also surpassed by Alex Márquez, Aleix Espargaró and Jack Miller, and fifteenth when he saw the flag.

As the laps went by, Jorge Martín’s soft tire performance dropped a lot, the final laps were agonizing, seeing how the chasing quartet, formed by Binder, Zarco, Di Giannantonio and Bagnaia, approached, where overtaking was lavish. at every opportunity, and thus the last turn was reached.

Johann Zarco led the “hunt” for his teammate, whom he overtook in the fourth corner of the track. Shortly after, both Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio overtook him in unison, and in the last corner Brad Binder also managed to beat him.

Jorge Martín went from race leader to fifth place due to a poor race strategy, which paid for in a last lap that the team will remember for a long time, like the fall of Indonesia.

Bagnaia is now the world leader with 366 points, 27 points more than Jorge Martín (339), with Marco Bezzecchi third, with 293 points.