Just before we dive into the Austrian GP, apologies for not getting the Czech GP done, the results however were, 1. Brad Binder, with a historic first time GP class win on the KTM, Franco Morbidelli, and Johann Zarco.
Quali for the Austrian GP saw Maverick Vinales on pole, Jack Miller then Fabio Quartararo.
The Ducati launch control saw Jack Miller fly off the line and into a significant lead on the first lap, with Andrea Dovizioso and Pol Espargaro trying to hang in there.
Fabio Quartararo from P3 went down to P6, struggling from the start with Maverick Vinales just one place ahead, so the Yamahas had lost their quail advantage.
The riders soon settled into a rhythm and it stayed with Miller first, harried by Pol Espargaro and Joan Mir there with them. Fabio Quartararo went straight on at a right hander and ended up last (later it was found to be a brake problem which hounded him through the race).
Twenty one laps to go and it was Espargaro, Miller and Dovizioso. Then disaster! At turn 2 bikes flying through the air! Franco Morbidelli and Johann Marco somehow caught each other in the braking area. Marco’s bike went on in a racing speed straight line then Morbidelli’s bike cartwheeled across the corner, broken bike bits all over. Valentino Rossi must wear multiple lucky charms, Morbidelli’s bike missing him by inches as it flew through the air. Both bikes destroyed, riders relatively ok, and a red flag.
With the amount of debris on the track, it took some time to reset. Rossi looked pensive as he watched the replay in his box. The re-start grid was P1 Espargaro 2 Dovizioso
3 Miller. Twenty laps to cover It was Miller again with Espargaro and Dovizioso following. It was a tight bunch in midfield going through the bends.
With 15 laps to go Espargaro was under pressure from Alex Rins and lost third to him. Soon Pol, going wide, clashed with Miguel Oliveira who had cut in on the racing line.
This incident left Dovi 1st, Miller 2nd and Rins 3rd (still carrying some nasty injuries). Very quickly Rins overtook for first only to lose the front end and low side out of the race.
Nine laps to go and it was Dovizioso, Miller and Joan Mir, and so it stayed until the last lap. With a calculated move in the final sector, Joan Mir showed his class, and undercut Miller.
1. Andrea Dovizioso Ducati Team 2. Joan Mir Team Suzuki Ecstar 3. Jack Miller Pramac Racing. We all love a bit of irony. Andrea threw in the towel with Ducati after protracted negotiations, and announced before the race weekend that enough was enough, he was leaving Ducati. Then hewins in Austria!
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Author: Martin Northern
Founder of Bike Directory
