Yamaha Maverick Vinales produced an
exceptional ride to win the Australian MotoGP Grand Prix. Vinales was the
strongest rider in the second half of the race and did enough to hold off
Suzuki's Andrea Iannone to take Yamaha's first win for 25 races. Ducati's
Andrea Dovizioso came home in third.
Recently crowned world champion
Marc Marquez started on pole on Sunday but pulled out of the race after a
high-speed incident with Johann Zarco. Vinales' Yamaha team-mate Valentino
Rossi had to settle for sixth. Following a frantic start, Jack Miller
led the way at the end of the first lap, although Marquez remained in close
proximity and was quick to restore his lead.
However, just as the world champion
appeared to be finding his groove, his chances were dashed after a crash with
Zarco. The latter's front tyre and Marquez's rear tyre came into contact,
prompting Zarco to be thrown from his bike. The Honda man somehow stayed
upright but had to retire in the pits not long afterwards.
Iannone
and Dovizioso did emerge from that group to put pressure on Vinales late on,
the battling they had done for second meant that life had been taken from their
tyres. As such, they were never seriously in a position to challenge for the
victory. In the end, the Yamaha man was able to hold off a fast-finishing
Iannone with relative ease to clinch his first win since Le Mans in 2017. Victory
for Vinales cements his spot in fourth in the world championship standings. He
is now just 30 and 15 points behind Dovizioso and Rossi, respectively.
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