Photo: motogp.com
Phillip Island was already believed to be a spectacular round at the end of the 2015 season, and the fact that the track itself is one of the finest in the entire calendar was only a part of the anticipation. The Free Practice sessions and the two Qualifying runs showed that things might be much different from any other Sunday we had this year.
Marquez set a blistering pole, but this was one of the things we were acquainted with already. Seeing Ducati and Andrea Iannone qualifying in the middle of the front row in front of Lorenzo was, however, a new and rare thing.
Funny or not, these positions were retained almost in the same order at the end of the Australian GP, but the 27 laps between the start and the checkered flag were an enthralling example of motorcycle racing at its finest.
This year, the bird incident involved Iannone on lap 2, when a seagull that was on the track did not fly away early enough, and the Ducati machine caught it full-on. At first it also looked that the bird hit Iannone in the head, but the Italian was only dodging.
It is hard to keep count how many passes have been made at Phillip Island, as the battle for the top six places raged from the opening lap through the final one. Still, Iannone was the protagonist of a pass that will remain in the sport's history books, and it is already regarded as the best overtake of the last years.
Rossi made a move on Marquez but was forced to run a bit wide at the corner exit. Iannone saw that the door opened by the current World Champion was open and pushed hard. Benefitting from the sheer power of the Ducati, Iannone charged ahead and passed Rossi with the same move, like a hurricane that appeared from nowhere.
On several other occasions, Iannone was able to show how powerful the Ducati bikes have become. It was enough to trail Rossi or Marquez at the beginning of a straight section of track and opening the throttle would have the Ducati machine sprint ahead almost unnaturally. Iannone was also clocked with the highest speed at Phillip Island, topping 340 km/h (211.3 mph).
The end of the race could belong to pretty much any of the first four riders, given how often they switched positions. Still, the checkered flag saw Marquez winning at Phillip Island, after a mental final lap, with Lorenzo second, only two and a half tenths slower. The Mallorcan was followed by Iannone, who barely beat Rossi by a tenth.
Pedrosa finished fifth, followed by a very fast Maverick Vinales. Cal Crutchlow also had a good weekend, finishing seventh at Phillip Island, ahead of the Espargaro brothers Pol and Aleix, with Smith rounding up the top ten.
The next race takes place at Sepang this weekend, and the stakes are as high as they get, both for the Yamaha riders and for Marquez or Iannone, who have nothing to lose, anyway.
Funny or not, these positions were retained almost in the same order at the end of the Australian GP, but the 27 laps between the start and the checkered flag were an enthralling example of motorcycle racing at its finest.
Iannone led the way and battled with the top riders, even lit a seagull that left a hole in his bike
If anything, seagulls are one of the factors that can never be neglected at Phillip Island. We saw the birds involved in all sorts of crashes, and even Lorenzo rode to the pits with a dead seagull stuck in the bodywork of his bike.This year, the bird incident involved Iannone on lap 2, when a seagull that was on the track did not fly away early enough, and the Ducati machine caught it full-on. At first it also looked that the bird hit Iannone in the head, but the Italian was only dodging.
It is hard to keep count how many passes have been made at Phillip Island, as the battle for the top six places raged from the opening lap through the final one. Still, Iannone was the protagonist of a pass that will remain in the sport's history books, and it is already regarded as the best overtake of the last years.
Rossi made a move on Marquez but was forced to run a bit wide at the corner exit. Iannone saw that the door opened by the current World Champion was open and pushed hard. Benefitting from the sheer power of the Ducati, Iannone charged ahead and passed Rossi with the same move, like a hurricane that appeared from nowhere.
On several other occasions, Iannone was able to show how powerful the Ducati bikes have become. It was enough to trail Rossi or Marquez at the beginning of a straight section of track and opening the throttle would have the Ducati machine sprint ahead almost unnaturally. Iannone was also clocked with the highest speed at Phillip Island, topping 340 km/h (211.3 mph).
The end of the race could belong to pretty much any of the first four riders, given how often they switched positions. Still, the checkered flag saw Marquez winning at Phillip Island, after a mental final lap, with Lorenzo second, only two and a half tenths slower. The Mallorcan was followed by Iannone, who barely beat Rossi by a tenth.
Pedrosa finished fifth, followed by a very fast Maverick Vinales. Cal Crutchlow also had a good weekend, finishing seventh at Phillip Island, ahead of the Espargaro brothers Pol and Aleix, with Smith rounding up the top ten.
Eleven points between championship leader Rossi and Lorenzo, two rounds to go
The 2015 title is still undecided, as Rossi has an 11-point advantage over his teammate Lorenzo. Marquez' victory at Phillip Island helped the Italian minimize the damage, but things are far from settled. Eleven points are not exactly much, especially when considering the fact that Lorenzo is aiming for victories.The next race takes place at Sepang this weekend, and the stakes are as high as they get, both for the Yamaha riders and for Marquez or Iannone, who have nothing to lose, anyway.
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