2018 MotoGP Austria – Ducati retains its winning streak at the Spielberg circuit
The real contenders for the victory last time in Brno are lined up on the front row here in Austria for the Austrian GP. Marquez, Dovi and Lorenzo, each running different tyre combinations, are staring up the hill, each determined to get the holeshot into the first corner. They’re followed up by Petrucci, Crutchlow and Zarco. Johann Zarco is improving after being off the pace since his tumble at the French GP earlier in the season. Perhaps the biggest shocker is Valentino Rossi, who lines up in 14th place after struggling in qualifying at the MotoGP Austria. Yamaha have issued apologies to Rossi and Vinales over power delivery issues throughout the season.
Dovi outruns Marquez for the first corner but later in the lap Marquez pushes himself and Dovi wide, allowing Lorenzo to swoop in and steal the lead. Alex Rins has come up from 10th on the grid to 4th position, a great start from the Suzuki man. He’s soon passed by Cal Crutchlow, who has been on the pace with the factory boys all season. A block pass from Marquez sees him snatch first position from Lorenzo.
Rins runs wide while trying to tail Crutchlow and loses 5th position to Danilo Pretrucci. Meanwhile at the front of the pack, Marquez is holding his lead, keeping Lorenzo and Dovi at bay behind him. Lorenzo is pushing hard in 2nd place with a soft front and soft rear tyre combination. Something that would usually make me think “Two soft tyres? He’ll use up all his grip and slowly drop back…” But Lorenzo has made me eat my words before and there’s every chance we’ll see him do it again.
Rossi has managed to move from 14th position up to 9th and is looking to pass Aleix Espargaro, who is having a good ride on the Aprilia. It still puzzles me that every major motorcycle publication, from Fast Bikes to Performance Bikes, praise the Aprilia RSV4 RF for being one of the most complete sports bike packages out there but no one can seem to make it work competitively? Meanwhile, Maverick Vinales is really struggling, well off the pace and down in 16th position.
Dovi is getting faster with each lap, looking to catch Marquez but can’t find a way past his Ducati teammate. Lorenzo is famed for his sweeping lines and playing very defensively when he needs to. He’s certainly not going to let Dovi through without making him work for it. They might well be teammates, but they aren’t friends, that’s for sure.
The gap between the Ducati’s and Marquez’s Repsol Honda is closing but not enough for Marquez to start worrying yet, as he holds onto a half second lead. Crutchlow still holds tight to 4th place, a brilliant ride from Cal here at the Austrian GP. Petrucci refuses to budge from the 5th position he acquired from Alex Rins, forcing Rins to stay in 6th.
Jorge Lorenzo puts in the fastest lap of the race so far, inching closer to Marquez. A mistake from Lorenzo forces him wide but Dovi still can’t capitalise on this error and Lorenzo remains in 2nd position. As they cross the line with 10 laps to go, Lorenzo pulls the trigger and steals 1st position from Marquez. Dovi misses the rear tyre of Marquez by inches, having to sit the Ducati up and ultimately running wide. That’s cost him a lot of momentum, that’s for sure! It’s not long before Marquez fires it back into 1st, almost making contact with Lorenzo as he does so. This little scuffle lets Dovi close the gap, moving closer to the pair in front. Lorenzo uses the speed of the Ducati over the crest and regains first place.
Valentino Rossi has managed to move himself up into 7th position while Maverick Vinales is slowly climbing back, moving to 12th place. Cal Crutchlow is still keeping Danilo Petrucci at bay, with Alex Rins close behind. Meanwhile, at the front of the race, Dovi seems to be slowing down with each lap. He cannot quite hold onto Marquez. He’s now too far back to benefit from a slipstream; it appears that the life is draining from Dovi while Lorenzo leads the race.
Dovi is dead in the water and Lorenzo is still storming ahead. However, with three laps to go, Lorenzo runs well wide and leaves the door open for Marquez to get back to the front of the race. The fact that Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez are going to be teammates at Repsol Honda next year is going to make things very interesting for the 2019 season.
Lorenzo uses the drive of the Ducati to power up the hill and snatch first place, momentarily sitting up Marc Marquez as he does so. A brief wiggle from Marquez as he runs into the paint at the side of the track makes him lose a bit of momentum, something he can’t afford to do this late into the race. A block pass from Marquez sees the two bikes practically sat on each other but Marc just squeezes back ahead. There’s no slowing down for these two at the MotoGP Austria.
Some last lap attempts at a reshuffle sees Ducati pitted against Honda at the front of the field. Ultimately, Ducati prevail here in Austria at the MotoGP with Marquez only a tenth of a second behind his future teammate. Dovi manages to hold tight to third place while Cal Crutchlow pops a giant wheelie over the line for a cracking 4th place from the top independent rider.
It’s almost a different Lorenzo we’ve seen here in comparison with earlier races. Earlier in the season if Jorge had been overtaken, he’d struggle to fight back and would slowly fall down the field. A cracking victory for the number 99. Next time out, the MotoGP comes to home soil! The MotoGP at Silverstone is happening on the 26th August and we couldn’t be more excited! Will Andrea Dovizioso replicate his victory from last year? Can Rossi make a comeback for his first victory of the season? We can’t wait! Until then, ride safe out there!
Top Ten:
1) Lorenzo
2) Marquez
3) Dovizioso
4) Crutchlow
5) Petrucci
6) Rossi
7) Pedrosa
8) Rins
9) Zarco
10) Bautista
All images courtesy of motogp.com
