Spanish rider Jorge Martín on the Ducati extended his gap to series leader Francesco Bagnaia after a strategic misstep that allowed four rivals to pass him on the final lap of a long race where he still finished first. The Australian Grand Prix, the sixteenth round of the World Motorcycle Championship, was won by Frenchman Johann Zarco on a Ducati, with Pecco Bagnaia and Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio also on the podium for Ducati.
Following the Mandalika drama a week earlier, when a crash cut his event short, the Madrid native faced another tough day. The race began strongly with him gaining positions, but a poor tire choice for the extended distance undermined him. The event, originally scheduled for Sunday but postponed to Saturday due to strong winds forecast up to 60 km/h, tested riders and teams alike.
Martín led for 26 of the 27 laps, yet the rear soft tire compound proved insufficient as the tire performance faded. Adopting a different rubber from his rivals, he paid the price as Zarco passed him along with Bagnaia, with the top three slicing away just one lap ahead. Di Giannantonio and South Africa’s Brad Binder, riding for KTM, also overtook him, and Martín ultimately finished fifth.
Zarco, the 2015 and 2016 Moto2 champion, capitalized on this moment to claim his first premier-class victory after starting from fifth position. Di Giannantonio climbed to second and earned his first podium in MotoGP, while Martín’s rivals soared ahead. Bagnaia, who had finished second at Phillip Island, extended his lead over Martín to 27 points heading into Sunday’s sprint race and the remaining four Grands Prix, weather permitting.
Martín surprised by selecting the soft rear compound and defending his top spot against Binder as the lights went out. The pace quickened in a group that included Di Giannantonio, Bagnaia, Zarco, and the Spaniards, with Marc Márquez and Jack Miller joining later, as Aleix Espargaró also tried to close in.
Di Giannantonio pulled clear of the chase group, leaving only the championship leader in pursuit, and Martín built a lead of more than three seconds with ten laps to go. The drama intensified as the race drew toward its end, with a late surge from one rival and the field closing in around Martín in the final laps, raising the tension in the battle for positions. The outcome was sealed in a late move by Zarco, Di Giannantonio, and Binder as they overtook Martín with one lap remaining, consigning him to fifth on the final classification.
For the remaining Spaniards, Aleix Espargaró finished eighth, just ahead of his rival. Alex Márquez (Ducati) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) were horizontally midfield, around eleventh, while Marc Márquez finished fifteenth. Raul Fernández (Aprilia) ended in sixteenth and Pol Espargaró (KTM) in eighteenth, as the day wore on without a further change for them.
In the other notes from the race, Joan Mir (Repsol Honda) could not complete the event after a crash on the 11th lap following contact at turn four with an Italian rider, and Luca Marini (Ducati) along with Augusto Fernandez (KTM) also retired after separate falls. The day’s results shaped the championship picture, with the next rounds set to bring more intense battles as teams assess weather and tire strategies for the remaining races of the season.