MotoGP

What saved Marquez's Australian GP after surreal tear-off drama

by Valentin Khorounzhiy
4 min read

Marc Marquez's freak tear-off drama looked like it was going to cost him any shot at victory in MotoGP's Australian Grand Prix - so how did he win anyway?

A big part of that, of course, was Marquez's long-documented affinity for Phillip Island, which this Sunday left him as the clear quickest rider on track - but that is no guarantee of victory, especially when you're fighting for 13th into Turn 1.

After a major moment of misfortune, it took some notable good fortune to make Marquez's spectacular comeback possible.

The start calamity

First, though, let's circle back to that misfortune.

Marquez discarded a tear-off moments before lights out and threw it to his right - which Pecco Bagnaia, lining up right behind him, immediately picked up on as a mistake given the wind direction.

Indeed, the tear-off went back towards the bike and then, as Marquez realised what transpired and tried to get it out of the way, it was blown into the exact wrong spot, latching on to his rear tyre and causing a truly awful start.

Marquez and Bagnaia both explained after the race that MotoGP rider are generally in agreement not to discard helmet visor tear-offs at the start - an agreement that Bagnaia said had come about after Jack Miller's Ducati sucked up a tear-off discarded by Fabio Quartararo on the main straight at Misano into its airbox and then expired.

But there's no rule not to do it, and Marquez felt he didn't really have any other option.

"It was an unlucky situation but in the end it was also a bit my fault - but I didn't have a choice," he said.

"Here, in Australia, there are very big insects, and when I was engaging the front device, there was an insect [on the tear-off] and I didn't have clear vision.

"I decided to remove it. I said 'with the wind it'll go to the wall'. But it went to my rear tyre. It was a dangerous situation, big smoke, and then the first laps the rear tyre was spinning a lot and locking a lot. Then it came to normal temperature and we started to ride in a good way."

Marc Marquez passes Jorge Martin during MotoGP's Australian Grand Prix

A change in fortune

Indeed, Marquez's pace in the early going - once in clean air - didn't look amazing to begin with, which tallies with his explanation of the rear overheating as a consequence of a massive spill.

Were he trapped somewhere like 10th or ninth place at that point, a win would've surely been out of the question even given his prodigious pace. But he was sixth, as early as the exit of the Southern Loop corner (Turn 2) on the opening lap.

Considering he had entered Turn 1 with Fabio Quartararo's Yamaha and Luca Marini's Honda either side of him in the battle for 13th, this was a massive, swift turnaround.

"When I arrived in the first corner, I saw Marini here, some Yamaha, a lot of riders in front, I said 'I don't know where I am'. Then after the second corner I was in that sixth position!

"I don't know what I did. I need to rewatch."

What he did was stay out of trouble and catch a couple of good breaks.

Jorge Martin leads during MotoGP's Australian Grand Prix

After outbraking Quartararo and Marini into Turn 1, Marquez immediately worked his way around the outside of Quartararo's team-mate Alex Rins. In that process, though, he'd gained four more places.

A few metres ahead of him, his brother Alex Marquez and KTM rider Jack Miller had a minor tangle - washing out well wide as a consequence. This forced Fabio Di Giannantonio and Raul Fernandez to check up, and just like that Marquez was through on all of them without needing to make a move.

Speaking about the tussle with Miller, Alex Marquez said: "It was a racing incident - first lap, first corner, it's always like this.

"I think the contact [with Miller], he [Marc] found some door there, maybe everybody was closing the gas and he opened.

"He has that ability, in the moments when he does some mistake or something, to reprogramme his head really-really fast and go forward."

As Marquez arrived at Turn 2, Enea Bastianini was just up ahead forcing his way past Maverick Vinales - with both of their lines compromised, meaning Marquez immediately swept past Vinales and then outdragged Bastianini on corner exit.

Bastianini fought back forcefully into Turn 4, but Marquez kept the inside line into Turn 4, consolidating position. In a span of two-to-four corners, he had gained seven places.

"In this era, you've got to be at the front to have a chance," summed up Marquez's crew chief Frankie Carchedi, talking to British broadcaster TNT.

"That's one very rare race, to be able to come back and still have a fight for the win - you don't see that very often."

There was still a lot to do from sixth, and on lap four Marquez was again overtaking multiple bikes in one corner - this time because Marco Bezzecchi served his long-lap penalty at Turn 4 just as Brad Binder ran wide (having already run wide at Turn 1) and opened the door for Marquez.

The next time by he took care of Franco Morbidelli on the main straight for third place, having fully resuscitated a victory doomed that looked doomed at lights out but would be ticked off as a huge success at the chequered flag.

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