Austria MotoGP 2018: Jorge Lorenzo overcomes Marc Marquez to win

Jorge Lorenzo continued to pull himself back into the MotoGP title race after overcoming Marc Marquez to win the 2018 Grand Prix of Austria and hand Ducati victory for the third successive year at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg.

Marquez failed to convert pole into victory for the first time this season but nevertheless extended his lead at the summit of the riders' standings and now holds a 59-point cushion over Valentino Rossi, who came sixth. Lorenzo finished second at the Czech Grand Prix and took his third win of the campaign in Austria, depriving Marquez of the chance to complete his set of MotoGP victories.

Lorenzo had two wins to his name in 2018 coming into this race, and the veteran didn't attempt to hide his happiness after adding a third to his collection. The Red Bull Ring only returned to the MotoGP calendar in 2016, since which Italians Andrea Iannone and Andrea Dovizioso, both of Ducati at their points of victory, had accounted for both wins.

Honda had another impressive display from Cal Crutchlow, who held his spot in fourth but was a long way from breaking the top three, where Dovizioso, Lorenzo and Marquez sprang acres ahead of their competition. Ducati's Danilo Petrucci was another not far from breaking that hierarchy, though he could only finish fifth. Further down the ranks was Yamaha duo Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales, who finished sixth and 12th, respectively, and never looked capable of challenging at the climax of a disastrous week in Austria.

Spain MotoGP 2018: Marquez wins and take lead

Marc Marquez won his home Spanish Grand Prix and took the overall MotoGP lead after the reigning champion’s main rivals collided spectacularly. The Honda rider was in a race of his own for the last eight laps after the Ducati pairing of Andrea Dovizioso, the previous championship leader and Jorge Lorenzo collided with Honda Dani Pedrosa while fighting for second place.

Pedrosa, who had wrist surgery less than a month ago, was thrown high over his bike after trying to go past the two Ducati’s on the inside. Lorenzo came across into the corner as Dovizioso went wide, colliding with Pedrosa and sending the two Ducati’s into the gravel. All three riders walked away from the crash. French Tech3 Yamaha rider Johann Zarco was gifted the runner-up slot, 5.241 seconds behind, and is now Marquez's closest rival in the championship.

Four times world champion Marquez, who started the race from fifth place, now has 70 points after four races to Zarco's 58. Dovizioso dropped to fifth overall with 46. Italian Andrea Iannone finished third for Suzuki. Compatriot Valentino Rossi was fifth at the Jerez circuit in southern Spain in a race that saw him reach a career milestone by completing the circumference of the planet in race kilometers.

Rossi has now covered 40,075km in competition over 23 seasons, starting at the 1996 Malaysian Grand Prix. Britain's Cal Crutchlow started on pole position for the LCR Honda team but failed to finish, crashing out at turn one after nine laps and while in fourth place.

US MotoGP 2018: Marquez claims dominant win

Defending world champion, Marc Marquez claimed a sixth victory at the Circuit of the Americas, managing to maintain his record of being unbeaten at the track. The Repsol Honda rider started the race fourth on the grid, having incurred a three-place grid penalty after he set the fastest lap in qualifying round. The penalty was a result of blocking Pol Espargaro during qualifying.

When the race started, Marquez took the lead early on, and except for one attempt to get past him, that was made by Andrea Iannone of Suzuki, he was never really threatened. Eventually, he'd win the race with an advantage of 3.5 seconds over Yamaha's Maverick Vinales. For Vinales, it was his return to the podium after a long time, and his first visit to the rostrum in the 2018 season. Iannone managed to finish third, taking his first podium for Suzuki.

Fourth place went to Valentino Rossi, while fifth place went to Andrea Dovizioso. It was a spirited battle that he had with Monster Yamaha Tech3's Johann Marco who had to settle for sixth place. The move also meant that Dovi is now back in the lead of the world championship standings, with Cal Crutchlow's fall resulting in him losing top spot. Dani Pedrosa ended the race seventh on his Repsol Honda, riding with a fractured wrist after his fall in Argentina. Tito Rabat ended the race eighth for Reale Avintia Ducati, while Jack Miller finished ninth. Tenth place went to Aleix Espargaro.

Lorenzo, Danilo Petrucci and Pol Espargaro on the KTM were next, Takaaki Nakagami the first rookie home in 14th, while Alvaro Bautista rounded out the point-scorers. Bradley Smith brought home his KTM in 16th ahead of Scott Redding and Tom Luthi, while Crutchlow clawed his way up to 19th ahead of Xavier Simeon and Franco Morbidelli - the only other finishers - despite a time penalty for cutting the circuit late in the race. The world championship heads to Europe now for the Spanish Grand Prix at Jerez on May 6.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of Austria

Andrea Lannone won a stunning Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring, scoring his first ever MotoGP victory after seeing off the challenge of teammate Andrea Dovizioso. It was Ducati first MotoGP win since Casey Stoner at Phillip Island in 2010, their 1-2 since 2007 at the same venue.

The top six bikes fought a stunning duel in early stages, with Dovizioso grabbing the lead from teammate Lannone just after one-third instance. Lorenzo headed early-leader Rossi for the duration in third, with Honda’s Marc Marquez and Suzuki Maverick Vinales in touch over the opening stages but falling off the leading pace in the second half.

Lannone passed Dovizioso for the lead with eight laps remaining. In the closing stages, the Ducatis pulled away to make it personal duel between them in the sprint to the finish line. Lannone kept his nerve out front to score a superb maiden victory at the top level, heading Dovizioso, Lorenzo, Rossi, Marquez and Vinales.

Lannone, who will move to Suzuki in 2017, is the first Italian to win for Ducati since Loris Capirossi at Motegi in 2007. It also consigned Dovizioso losing streak, which extends to Donington Park in 2009. Marc Marquez of Honda is still at top with 181 points followed by Jorge Lorenzo of Yamaha with 138 points. Valentino Rossi of Yamaha is at third place with 124 points. 

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of Italy

Jorge Lorenzo won a ferocious last lap duel with Marc Marquez to clinch victory at Mugello, where Valentino Rossi face ended in bitter disappointment with an engine failure. Italian hero Rossi had been shadowing his Movistar Yamaha team-mate Lorenzo in second place when his race came to an unceremonious end on lap nine, when he was forced to park up his smoking factory M1.

It was the second engine blow up to hit Yamaha on Sunday after Lorenzo bike suffered a similar fate during morning warm-up. As Lorenzo and Marquez engaged in a game of cat and mouse at the front, Andrea Lannone who was down in 10^th place following the opening lap after blowing his front row start was on the move and came through to take third from his Ducati team-mate Andrea Dovizioso.

Dani Pedrosa also came on strong in the second part of the race and became embroiled in a battle with Lannone, although the Italian rider prevailed to seal the final place on the podium. Lorenzo and Marquez traded passes on a nail biting final lap and it looked as though the Honda rider had managed to make the decisive move to lead out of the final corner onto the main straight, but Lorenzo managed to draft past on the blast to the line to win in dramatic style.

Dovizioso finished fifth on the second of the factory Ducati GP16 machines, with Maverick Vinales sixth on the Ecstar Suzuki. Spaniard Vinales also blew his start and had to fight his way through from 11^th place on the GSX-RR. It was Rossi second DNF of the season after he crashed out in Texas and he is now 37 points behind Lorenzo after the first six rounds.

MotoGP 2016: Grand Prix of the Americas

All eyes were on Marc Marquez as the MotoGP World Championship lined up at the head the grid for the Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas. The Spaniard went into the race with a perfect record on America Soil, winning every MotoGP race he started in the United States. While Marquez was quietly confident, there were a number of riders who were looking to return to the front once more.

Amongst them was Jorge Lorenzo, the 2015 MotoGP World Champion having suffered an uncharacteristic crash during Warm Up. Andrea Lannone was another ready to make an impact; having qualified fourth he started seventh after his penalty from the Argentina GP. All of the factory Yamaha and Ducati riders opted for medium tyres front and rear while pole man Marquez chose the soft front with medium rear.

Roaring off the line, Lorenzo grabbed the lead into Turn 1 but ran wide on exit, allowing Marquez to move ahead. The field all make it through the opening corners safe, Lorenzo in the second with Valentino Rossi hot on his tail. Andrea Dovizioso also made a good start and used the power of the Ducati Slide into second down the back straight. The third lap began with Rossi crashing out of the race at Turn 2, losing the front mid corner.

All the while Marquez and Dovizioso ran away at the front, Lorenzo defending his third place position. For the first time in 25 races, Rossi failed to finish the top five. Lap after lap, Marquez extended his lead and after only five laps his fourth straight win in Texas looked certain. But the remaining two spots on the podium were wide open, Lorenzo getting past Dovizioso with Dani Pedrosa waiting patiently behind. Round 4 of MotoGP World Championship takes place on the 24^th April at the Gran Premio Red Bull De Espana.