Marquez makes it 100 with podium return
357 days after his last trip to the podium, Marc Marquez became just the fourth rider in history to achieve 100 premier class podiums after a thrilling Phillip Island battle while Espargaro fought for the top ten.
The sun was shining down on the Phillip Island Circuit as Marc Marquez lined up in the centre of the front row of the grid for the 27 lap race. With clear track ahead of him, the #93 charged off the line to tuck in just behind polesitter Jorge Martin for the opening half of the race as they avoided the frantic battle behind. As the laps went by, the competition grew closer and it was soon a seven-way battle for the victory – a true Phillip Island classic. It would only be decided in the closing laps, Marquez saving his soft rear for an all-out assault at the end.
Pushing until the line, for the 31st time in his MotoGP career the eight-time World Champion took second place and earned his 100th premier class podium in the process. Marc Marquez narrowly missed out on a return to the top step of the podium 0.186s behind Rins. 357 days after his last podium, achieved at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 2021, Marquez has once again taken to the rostrum. After incredible efforts to return to fitness after a fourth surgery on his injured right arm, the podium shows the great progress that Marquez is making in his ongoing recovery.
The eight-timme World Champion becomes just the fourth rider to achieve 100 podium finishes in the premier class, joining Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa in an exclusive club. From 152 MotoGP starts, Marquez has achieved 59 wins and has finished in the top three in 65% of his premier class races. The second-place finish also moves him level with Spanish legend Angel Nieto, the pair sharing 139 podiums across all Grand Prix classes.
Behind, Pol Espargaro made an aggressive start to the race as he tried to hustle his way into the top ten. He quickly found himself battling with several other riders which saw him stuck in 14th place for the opening half of the race. Sticking to his plan and conserving his tyres, the #44 began to make steady progress in the final 13 laps as he worked his way forward to 11th at the line.
Now the Repsol Honda Team head for the penultimate race of the year at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. From the cold and wind of Phillip Island, it looks set to be a classic weekend in Malaysia with scorching temperatures and high humidity. The work continues right until the end.
Marc Marquez
“It was a great race today; I really enjoyed the battle a lot and the feeling of returning to the podium is fantastic. It has been a long journey and we have reached the next stage. The soft rear was certainly the correct option for us in the race, I felt quite good, and I was able to fight until the end. At the start I was managing the situation a little bit, but I really enjoyed the race, I tried to win! Alex Rins did really well in the last few laps. I left everything out on track today and I really enjoyed all the overtakes, especially at Turn 2 because the bike was working really well there. We are coming better but there is still work to do. It’s great to achieve this milestone of 100 premier class podiums and an honour to draw equal with Nieto but we are not done yet!”
Pol Espargaro
“Our race today was quite similar to the last races; we were playing catch up a lot during the race. We were probably a bit closer to the front this race than in the previous ones, but the pace of the race overall was slower than we thought it would be. Again, starting so far back on the grid makes it really hard and especially at a circuit like Phillip Island – there’s a lot of turbulence and the opening laps you have to be really precise. We started the weekend well here, so we can see that there is some potential there but missing out on Q2 really hurt us. Two races left in the season; we keep on going.”
Australian Grand Prix - Race Results
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor | Time/Gap |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 25 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 40'50.654 |
2 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | 20 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 0.186 |
3 | Bagnaia Francesco | 62 | ITA | 16 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | 0.224 |
4 | Bezzecchi Marco | 73 | ITA | 13 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 0.534 |
5 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 11 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 0.557 |
6 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 10 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati | 0.688 |
7 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 9 | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 0.884 |
8 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 8 | Pramac Racing | Ducati | 3.141 |
9 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 7 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 4.548 |
10 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 6 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 5.940 |
11 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | 5 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | 11.048 |
12 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 4 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 13.606 |
13 | Crutchlow Cal | 35 | GBR | 3 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 13.890 |
14 | Binder Darryn | 40 | RSA | 2 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha | 14.526 |
15 | Gardner Remy | AUS | 1 | 19.470 | |||
16 | Fernandez Raul | SPA | 0 | 20.645 | |||
17 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | 0 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia | 22.167 |
18 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | 0 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki | 23.489 |
19 | Nagashima Tetsuta | 45 | JPN | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda | 39.618 |
20 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 0 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati | 39.633 |
21 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | DNF | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | DNF |
22 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | DNF | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | DNF |
23 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | DNF | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati | DNF |
24 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | DNF | LCR Honda | Honda | DNF |
Rider standings
Pos. | Rider | Num | Nation | Points | Team | Constructor |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Bagnaia Francesco | 62 | ITA | 233 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
2 | Quartararo Fabio | 20 | FRA | 219 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
3 | Espargaro Aleix | 41 | SPA | 206 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
4 | Bastianini Enea | 23 | ITA | 191 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
5 | Miller Jack | 43 | AUS | 179 | Ducati Lenovo Team | Ducati |
6 | Binder Brad | 33 | RSA | 160 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
7 | Zarco Johann | 5 | FRA | 159 | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
8 | Rins Alex | 42 | SPA | 137 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
9 | Martin Jorge | 89 | SPA | 136 | Pramac Racing | Ducati |
10 | Oliveira Miguel | 88 | POR | 135 | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM |
11 | Vinales Maverick | 12 | SPA | 122 | Aprilia Racing | Aprilia |
12 | Marini Luca | 10 | ITA | 111 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
13 | Marquez Marc | 93 | SPA | 104 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
14 | Bezzecchi Marco | 73 | ITA | 93 | Mooney VR46 Racing Team | Ducati |
15 | Mir Joan | 36 | SPA | 77 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
16 | Espargaro Pol | 44 | SPA | 54 | Repsol Honda Team | Honda |
17 | Marquez Alex | 73 | SPA | 50 | LCR Honda | Honda |
18 | Nakagami Takaaki | 30 | JPN | 46 | LCR Honda | Honda |
19 | Morbidelli Franco | 21 | ITA | 31 | Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha |
20 | Di Giannantonio Fabio | 49 | ITA | 23 | Team Gresini Racing MotoGP | Ducati |
21 | Dovizioso Andrea | 4 | ITA | 15 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha |
22 | Binder Darryn | 40 | RSA | 12 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha |
23 | Gardner Remy | AUS | 10 | |||
24 | Fernandez Raul | SPA | 9 | |||
25 | Crutchlow Cal | 35 | GBR | 6 | WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team | Yamaha |
26 | Bradl Stefan | 6 | GER | 2 | HRC Test Team | Honda |
27 | Pirro Michele | ITA | 0 | |||
28 | Savadori Lorenzo | 32 | ITA | 0 | Aprilia Racing Test Team | Aprilia |
29 | Nagashima Tetsuta | 45 | JPN | 0 | LCR Honda | Honda |
30 | Petrucci Danilo | 9 | ITA | 0 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
31 | Watanabe Kazuki | 92 | JPN | 0 | Team Suzuki Ecstar | Suzuki |
32 | Tsuda Takuya | JPN | 0 |
Location Information
Phillip Island, the self-styled home of Australian motorsport, is steeped in motor racing tradition, with the first car races having been held there on public roads in the 1920s. The first motorcycle races took place in 1931 and a permanent track was built in 1956. The circuit fell into disrepair… read more.
Length | 4.448 kilometres / 2.764 miles |
Width | 13 metres |
Left corners | 7 |
Right corners | 5 |
Longest straight | 0.900 kilometres / 0.559 miles |
Constructed | 1956 |
Modified | 1988 |
Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island, Ventnor, Victoria, Australia - View in Google Maps
Records
Pole Position | 1m 27.246s (183.5 km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2023) |
Race Lap | 1m 28.108s (181.7 km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2013) |
Race Time | 40m 33.849s (177.6 km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2015) |
2023 Race Winner | Johann Zarco (Ducati) |