The form man of the weekend was slowly picking his way through the pack though. Viñales was up to third on Lap 8, second on Lap 9 and then the lead was his on Lap 10. Knowing the polesitter had the pace to make a break, third place Marquez was in a hurry to get past Crutchlow as he shoved the Brit ride at the top of Lukey Heights, dropping the number 35 down to P4 behind Iannone. Immediately, Viñales and Marquez were clearing off. Crutchlow passed the Aprilia into Turn 1 and attempted to go with the leading duo as all three set mid 1:29 sec, seeing the trio unshackle themselves from the monstrous fight for fourth.

The LCR Honda Castrol man couldn’t hold the pace of Viñales and Marquez though, as the two Spaniard’s started to show their superiority around the Island. Crutchlow wasn’t troubling them, but the three-time Grand Prix winner also wasn’t being troubled from the men behind. That scrap behind was between eight riders: three Ducatis, two Suzukis, two Aprilias and a Yamaha. Rookies Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) and Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) were producing the goods as that battle chopped and changed constantly.

Back at the front, it was line astern. Viñales and Marquez were on rails as the duo raced to over three seconds clear of Crutchlow with 10 laps remaining. With a handful of laps to go, using the Honda’s better grunt, Marquez was threatening to lead at Turn 1 – but the 2019 Champion was holding back. He did it to Quartararo at Misano, was another Yamaha about to get the same treatment in Australia? The laps ticked down and Marquez kept shying away from a Turn 1 pass, shadowing Viñales around the rest of the lap. Last lap time. Viñales vs Marquez, Yamaha vs Honda, Spain vs Spain. This time, Marquez did fire past Viñales into Turn 1 and the lead was his. Viñales was quick around the outside in the hope of gaining the inside line at Turn 2, but Marquez shut the door. Turn 4 approached but Viñales wasn’t close enough – Turn 10 now the only major overtaking opportunity. The race would then be settled on the drop into 10, but not how we imagined.

Rapid over the crest of Lukey Heights, Viñales was right on the back of Marquez. But then, the Yamaha was crossed up into the braking zone, which ultimately caused Viñales to crash out. Unreal drama on the final lap as Marquez was lucky not to be taken out by Viñales’ stricken YZR-M1, with the number 93 crossing the line to take victory number 55 of his MotoGP™ career, becoming the most successful Honda rider in the premier class, overtaking Mick Doohan’s record on the MotoGP™ Legend’s home circuit. Viñales’ crash bumped 2016 Australian GP winner Crutchlow into P2, a sensational result for the number 35 after last year’s near-career ending crash at Phillip Island.

On the last lap, Miller found himself at the forefront of the battle for P4 after Dovi ran wide at Turn 2. That fight for P4 was now a battle for P3 though and, on the run to the line, Miller had to fend off teammate Bagnaia for a dream home GP rostrum. Sensational scenes prevailed for Miller, the Australian fans and the Pramac garage as both riders produced a stunner – Pecco pocketing his best MotoGP™ result in P4. It was a magnificent ride from the Italian rookie having started from P15, who beats fellow rookie Mir. The Spaniard also claimed his best premier class result in P5, the Suzuki man holding off the super impressive Iannone as ‘The Maniac’ takes his best Aprilia finish. Dovizioso crossed the line in P7 just a whisker behind Iannone, as the Team Championship between Ducati Team and Repsol Honda Team sits at just one point. Rossi slipped back to eighth in the closing stages, holding off the challenge from Rins and Espargaro for P8, P9 and P10.

Marquez reigns on the Island, but Viñales was right there and showed immaculate pace all weekend. The duo – and the rest – go again in Malaysia in less than a weeks’ time at the final flyaway of the season. The temperature off track will be scorching in Sepang, let’s hope the on-track heat will be just as good as it was at Phillip Island.

Top 10:
1. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team)
2. Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) + 11.413
3. Jack Miller (Pramac Racing) + 14.499
4. Francesco Bagnaia (Pramac Racing) + 14.554
5. Joan Mir (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 14.817
6. Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 15.280
7. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) + 15.294
8. Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) + 15.841
9. Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) + 16.032
10. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) + 16.590.

PRAMAC GENERAC AUSTRALIAN MOTORCYCLE GP

MotoGP Race Classification 2019.

MotoGP World Standing 2019.