Johann Zarco wins the Australian Grand Prix

Martín led the entire race until the first lapFour drivers riding behind him overtook him, experiencing serious traction problems with the rear tire of his motorcycle. Along with Johann Zarco, Italians Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia (Ducati Desmosedici GP23) and Fabio di Giannantonio (Ducati Desmosedici GP22) completed the podium.

The Spanish pilot lost one of his heroes before the race started. Alex Rins (Honda RC 213 V) felt a lot of discomfort At Mugello he injured his right leg (tibia and fibula fracture), advised him not to participate in the competition, and also had a new CT (Computed Axial Tomography) performed on the advice of the Spanish Ángel Charte, Medical Director of the competition.

And the first surprise came from the author of the ‘pole position’, Spaniard Jorge Martín, one of the few pilots, together with his compatriots Marc Márquez (Honda RC 213 V) and Pol Espargaró (Gas Gas RC 16). and Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati Desmosedici GP22), They preferred soft rear tire compoundThe remaining drivers preferred to install the rear intermediate tire. This was a surprise because, besides the grand prix being a long race of 27 laps and not a sprint race (a change made due to the possibility of atmospheric conditions deteriorating noticeably on Sunday), all the drivers became aware of this. The main strategy would be to protect the tire, and it was assumed that the softer the tire, the worse it would be.

And as soon as the red light went out, Jorge Martín took control of the race despite South African Brad Binder (KTM RC 16) trying to get the bike to the inside, but the Spaniard withstood the pressure perfectly and started the race. Like a man with the ability to gain a reassuring advantage. Behind him were Binder, Bagnaia and local idol Jack Miller (KTM RC 16), who eventually finished seventh. Marc Márquez (Honda RC 213 V) did not have a good start but managed to finish the first lap in sixth place, despite starting seventh and losing a few places when the traffic light went out.

Like Marc Márquez, Spaniard Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia RS-GP), who was fourth in the starting lineup, also did not have a good start. He dropped to eighth place and, very ambitiously, made just three laps to pass Bagnaia and leave Italian Fabio di Giannantonio on the podium for third place.

Fast lap pace in both the second and third laps, Jorge Martín escaped all his rivalsBrad Binder was a second behind on lap three and ‘Diggia’ was more than two behind a large group that included Bagnaia, Frenchman Johann Zarco (Ducati Desmosedici GP23), Marc Márquez, Jack Miller, Aleix, who overtook him shortly after. Espargaró, Alex Márquez (Ducati Desmosedici GP22), Pol Espargaró and Marco Bezzecchi.

However, Zarco did not give up and attacked Marc Márquez, with whom he engaged in an intense fight for several laps, which benefited Bagnaia to retain fourth place. Jorge Martín, on the other hand, gradually moved away from all his rivals.

Given that the top three positions were fairly consolidated with Jorge Martín, Brad Binder and Fabio Di Giannantonio, attention focused on the chasing eight, which Bagnaia commanded ahead of Zarco and Márquez, who had to counter attacks from Aleix Espargaró. Behind him, Spanish Joan Mir (Honda RC 213 V) became the first victim of the race when he crashed at the fourth turn while fighting for position with Italian Luca Marini (Ducati Desmosedici GP22). The Directing Stewards Panel is “under investigation” and the incident has been resolved as a simple “racing incident”.

at the same point Joan Mir fell to the groundAt Turn 4 the Spaniard finished the same way Augusto Fernandez (Gas Gas RC 16), ‘Diggia’ approached Brad Binder at the front and behind him was a growing Bagnaia with Johann Zarco.

Eleven laps from the end, on the sixteenth lap, Jorge Martín gained the same advantage he had in Indonesia before the crash, with an advantage of more than three seconds, and this time all the attention was on whether the rear tire could withstand the effort. . Martín’s victory seemed indisputable, but Di Gianantonio, who had overtaken Bagnaia and Zarco and Brad Binder in qualifying in the main group and was now leading without Marc Márquez, who, like Martín, had tire problems, lost several positions. He fell to tenth place, also overtaken by Alex Márquez, Aleix Espargaró and Jack Miller, and by the time he saw the flag he had fallen to fifteenth place.

As the turns pass The performance of Jorge Martín’s soft tire has dropped significantly. The final laps were agonizing as we saw the chasing quartet of Binder, Zarco, Di Giannantonio and Bagnaia approach, with overtaking at every opportunity, leading to the final lap.

Johann Zarco chased after the teammate he had left behind at the fourth turn of the circuit and soon both Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio passed him together and Brad Binder also managed to beat him at the last corner. Jorge Martín moves from race lead to fifth place due to poor race strategyIt paid off in the final round, which the team will remember for a long time, as Indonesia’s collapse.

Bagnaia currently leads the world with 366 points, 27 points more than Jorge Martín (339), while Marco Bezzecchi is third with 293 points.