Marquez claims Aussie arm wrestle

Despite a smokey start, Marc Marquez is once again the king of the island after outlasting Jorge Martin in a hard-fought Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

Marquez and Martin produced a thrilling spectacle in the final three laps, changing the lead on three occasions before the #93 used the experience to emerge on top with a big dive at Miller Corner.

What made the 0.9s win even more impressive from the #93 was it arrived after another poor start where the Gresini rider slipped from second to sixth.

But the smokey moment caused by a stray tear off only inspired Marquez to a stunning fourth Phillip Island win and first since 2017.

As a result for the third year in a row Martin led the Australian Grand Prix from pole, but could not complete the job.

However, he still extended his championship lead to 20 points with Francesco Bagnaia unable to keep up in third.

Australia’s Jack Miller made ground from 15th to 11th in a clean race with thankfully no run ins with the wildlife.

Off the line it was a replay of the Sprint with Martin flying away from pole as Marquez had early issues.

This time the #93 had no luck, with his own tear off remarkably getting caught under his rear wheel, which sent smoke signals to the rest of the field.

With the Gresini Ducati rider bogging it down off the line, he slipped from second to sixth.

Bezzecchi was the beneficiary settling into second as Bagnaia got a great getaway to snare third with Vinales also falling out of the top five from the front row.

Miller had a steady start and only made one spot on the opening lap to get to 14th, but his KTM teammate was on the move as Binder flew from 11th to fifth.

Keen to set the pace, Martin posted the fastest lap, but Bezzecchi was also on it and the Pramac Ducati rider could not get more than three tenths clear.

However, Bezzecchi was not a contender for long as he had to serve a long lap penalty for his Sprint smash with Vinales, which promoted the #1 to second.

A lap later it was all over for the #72 VR46 rider, who lost the front going into Miller Corner.

Although Martin was in command, unlike Saturday he could not break free with Bagnaia managing  the gap to three tenths.

Marquez did not take long to fly back up the leaderboard, flying past Morbidelli down the Gardner Straight to snare fourth.

By Lap 10 the Marquez comeback was at full steam, catching Bagnaia to the tune of three tenths per lap.

The Gresini Ducati pulled out of the slipstream of the #1, but could not get close enough to make a move.

With the battle for second forming, Martin was able to open a six-tenth advantage, but this suddenly vanished due to one mistake.

The #89 ran wide going through Doohan and suddenly the fans were thrilled with a three-way fight for victory.

Bagnaia sensed his moment and sliced down the inside of Martin with a fine move at Stoner Corner.

However, Martin immediately responded to his championship rival, retaking the lead with a big dive at the following heavy-braking right hander.

With the #1 forced wide Marquez also got by with the reigning champion falling from first to third.

Within five laps Bagnaia’s victory assault started to fade as he drifted 2s behind the leading pair.

Miller was also giving the home fans reasons to cheer, clawing his way into the top 10 by the halfway mark.

The #43 also caught the back of Raul Fernandez at the front of a five-bike train.

Bastinaini was also making moves and overcame both Di Giannantonio and Binder to soar to fifth.

With Bagnaia no longer part of the battle, all eyes turned to Martin and Marquez as they were the only riders recording low 1m28s times.

Despite the #89 showing some signs of weakness mid corner, the #93 sat on the back wheel as the tense final five laps approached.

Marquez waited around 10 laps until Lap 24 to finally pounce.

Having looked fast through Southern Loop, the #93 put Martin on the defensive as they approached Miller Corner and the Pramac Ducati rider could not avoid losing tracking position on corner exit.

Marquez appeared to have won the battle with one decisive move, but it was far from over.

Martin stayed on the back wheel and launched from the slipstream with a slingshot down Gardner Straight.

Back in second and desperate to reclaim the lead, Marquez then launched a dive-bomb at Miller Corner and just made it stick.

Martin threatened to come back with eager looks at Gardner and Southern Loop, but did not get close enough.

As a result Marquez started the final lap with half a second up his sleeve, which was enough to avoid any further challenges.

Whilst Marquez celebrated, there was more pain for his former team Repsol Honda with Joan Mir a late faller. He and Lorenzo Savadori, who sufferend mechanical dramas were the only retirements from a mostly clean 27-lap affair.

Behind the podium, Di Giannantonio made a late comeback on Bastianini to wrestle fourth from the facotry Ducati rider.

Morbidelli secured sixth, just 0.016s ahead of Bunder with Vinales, Quartararo and Raul Fernandez completing the top 10 ahead of Miller.

The MotoGP title race carries on next weekend at Thailand.

2024 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix results

Pos	Rider	Nat	Team
1	Marc Marquez	SPA	Gresini Ducati (GP23)
2	Jorge Martin	SPA	Pramac Ducati (GP24)
3	Francesco Bagnaia	ITA	Ducati Lenovo (GP24)
4	Fabio Di Giannantonio	ITA	VR46 Ducati (GP23)
5	Enea Bastianini	ITA	Ducati Lenovo (GP24)
6	Franco Morbidelli	ITA	Pramac Ducati (GP24)
7	Brad Binder	RSA	Red Bull KTM (RC16)
8	Maverick Viñales	SPA	Aprilia Factory (RS-GP24)
9	Fabio Quartararo	FRA	Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)
10	Raul Fernandez	SPA	Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP24)
11	Jack Miller	AUS	Red Bull KTM (RC16)
12	Johann Zarco	FRA	LCR Honda (RC213V)
13	Alex Rins	SPA	Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1)
14	Luca Marini	ITA	Repsol Honda (RC213V)
15	Alex Marquez	SPA	Gresini Ducati (GP23)
16	Aleix Espargaro	SPA	Aprilia Factory (RS-GP24)
17	Augusto Fernandez	SPA	Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16)
18	Takaaki Nakagami	JPN	LCR Honda (RC213V)
19	Marco Bezzecchi	ITA	VR46 Ducati (GP23)
20	Joan Mir	SPA	Repsol Honda (RC213V)
21	Lorenzo Savadori	ITA	Aprilia Factory (RS-GP24)

Image: Gold and Goose

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