Dovi duffs up Marquez at last turn to win Austrian GP

Published: 11 August 2019

The action from the 2018 Austrian MotoGP
Dovizioso holds of a determined Marquez in Austria
Dovizioso was in determined mood in Austria as he took the win ahead of Marc Marquez
Marquez appears to be on top form this weekend

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Andrea Dovizioso took his second MotoGP victory of the season in Austria after a last-gasp overtake.

The Ducati star passed Marc Marquez in the last corner of a close race, mirroring the end of the Austrian GP two years ago. Frenchman Fabio Quartararo took third place, his third podium of the season.

Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha) took the lead early on in the race, with Suzuki’s Alex Rins briefly climbing to second. However, Marquez and Dovizioso soon dispatched of both Quartararo and Rins and it became a two-horse race until the end, the pair swapping places repeatedly.

Pramac Ducati’s Jack Miller crashed out of fourth place at turn nine, allowing Monster Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi into fourth and his team-mate Maverick Viñales into fifth.

On the last lap, Dovizioso attempted to pass Marquez at the first corner, but ran wide on the exit, allowing Marquez back through. The Italian didn’t give and at the last corner he threw himself up the inside of Marquez and got a good run onto the finish straight, holding his lead to win the race.

Speaking about his decision to throw caution to the wind in the last corner, Dovizioso said, “It seemed impossible… I didn’t think I could do it but it was the last corner and I had to try. I did something crazy and it worked.”

Alex Rins finished the race in sixth position and Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Ducati) took his best MotoGP result so far in seventh. Miguel Oliveira had a strong race on the Tech 3 KTM, finishing eighth. Britain’s Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) had a weekend to forget, crashing out near the start of the race.

Marquez retains a large championship lead on 230 points, still 58 points ahead of Dovizioso. Ducati’s Danilo Petrucci sits third on 136 points, ahead of Rins and Rossi. Cal Crutchlow drops one place in the standings to ninth position.

Race results:

1. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA), Mission Winnow Ducati – 39:34.771

2. Marc Marquez (ESP), Repsol Honda, +0.213

3. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), Petronas Yamaha, +6.117

4. Valentino Rossi (ITA), Monster Yamaha, +7.719

5. Maverick Viñales (ESP), Monster Yamaha, +8.674

6. Alex Rins (ESP), Suzuki Ecstar, +8.695

7. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Pramac Ducati, +16.021

8. Miguel Oliveira (POR), Red Bull KTM Tech 3, +16.206

9. Danilo Petrucci (ITA), Mission Winnow Ducati, +17.350

10. Franco Morbidelli (ITA), Petronas Yamaha, +20.510

Marquez makes it a magnificent seven

First published August 10, 6pm

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez reigned supreme again during Saturday’s MotoGP qualifying, racking up his seventh pole position of the season at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

The Spaniard’s best lap time of 1m 23.027s was a comfortable 0.4 seconds ahead of of Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha) in second.

Andrea Dovizioso (Mission Winnow Ducati), winner of the Austrian GP in 2017, will round out the front row for tomorrow’s race, as he set a lap time just five hundredths of a second slower than Quartararo’s.

The Italian was buoyant about starting from the front row, saying “We’ve worked hard for the race and the pace is quite good, so I think we have a big chance to fight with Marc.”

Monster Yamaha’s Maverick Viñales took fourth position and will be joined on the second row by Francesco Bagnaia, who put in a stellar performance on the Pramac Ducati, and LCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami.

Suzuki’s Alex Rins was seventh, followed by Pramac Ducati’s Jack Miller and LCR Honda’s Cal Crutchlow. Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi rounded out the top 10, setting a fastest lap roughly 0.8s off that of Marquez.

Factory Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci, currently third in the championship, struggled to find a strong pace despite the Red Bull Ring typically being a strong track for Ducati, and will start from 12^thon Sunday.

Qualifying results:

1. Marc Marquez (ESP), Repsol Honda – 1:23.027

2. Fabio Quartararo (FRA), Petronas Yamaha, +0.434s

3. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA), Mission Winnow Ducati, +0.488s

4. Maverick Viñales (ESP), Monster Yamaha, +0.496s

5. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA), Pramac Ducati, +0.625s

6. Takaaki Nakagami (JPN), LCR Honda Idemitsu, +0.642s

7. Alex Rins (ESP), Suzuki Ecstar, +0.654s

8. Jack Miller (AUS), Pramac Ducati, +0.661s

9. Cal Crutchlow (GBR), LCR Honda Castrol, +0.727s

10. Valentino Rossi (ITA), Monster Yamaha, +0.790s

MotoGP: Marquez fires warning shot at Ducati on the first day

First published August 9, 3pm

Championship leader Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) finished the first day of the Austrian GP at the top of the timesheets, setting a time of 1:23.916 at a track where Ducati have been dominant for the past three years. Marquez resumed first position 0.07 seconds ahead of fellow Spaniard Maverick Viñales (Monster Energy Yamaha).

Ducati’s dominance looked set to continue as Andrea Dovizioso set the fastest lap of FP1, but the Italian crashed out of FP2 at Turn 3, therefore failing to better the time he set in the morning and ending up third.

Japanese rider Takaaki Nakagami impressed on day one, finishing in fourth aboard the LCR Honda ahead of the 20-year-old Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT).

Any worries about the safety of his seat at Pramac Ducati didn’t seem to bother Jack Miller as he finished sixth, just four tenths of a second off Marquez.

Miguel Oliveira put in a stellar performance on the Tech 3 KTM, finishing seventh, with Danilo Petrucci (Mission Winnow Ducati), Britain’s Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda) and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) rounding out the top 10.

Yamaha’s Valentino Rossi and Suzuki’s Alex Rins both struggled to find a competitive pace on the first day, finishing in 11^th and 12^th respectively.

Combined practice times:

Marc Marquez (ESP), Repsol Honda – 1:23.916
Maverick Viñales (ESP), Monster Energy Yamaha – 1:23.982
Andrea Dovizioso (ITA), Mission Winnow Ducati – 1:24.033
Takaaki Nakagami (JPN), LCR Honda Idemitsu – 1:24.071
Fabio Quartararo (FRA), Petronas Yamaha SRT – 1:24.153
Jack Miller (AUS), Pramac Ducati – 1:24.308
Miguel Oliveira (POR), Red Bull KTM Tech 3 – 1:24.326
Danilo Petrucci (ITA), Mission Winnow Ducati – 1:24.330
Cal Crutchlow (GBR), LCR Honda Castrol – 1:24.336
Pol Espargaro (ESP), Red Bull KTM Factory Racing – 1:24.418

MotoGP: Austria Red Bull Ring preview

First published August 9 at 11:05

This weekend the MotoGP paddock heads to the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Ever since the all-new Austrian circuit was added to the MotoGP calendar, it’s been a happy hunting ground for Ducati, and 2018 was no exception as Jorge Lorenzo returned to his winning ways to secure his third victory of the season.

The Spaniard was pushed all the way by Marquez, who also took the 2019 win in Brno last weekend, but Lorenzo gave as good as he got with some audacious overtakes on the world champion.

Andrea Dovisioso claimed third place but had no answer for Lorenzo or Marquez. Britain’s Cal Crutchlow claimed fourth, almost ten seconds adrift after comfortably beating Danilo Petrucci.

Will Marquez retain the form he showed last weekend in Brno, taking pole and the race win, or will another rider challenge his 63-point lead? We can’t wait to find out…