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• Dani Pedrosa won at Phillip Island in 250cc in 2005. Third in 2009 is his best MotoGP result there.
• After Malaysia, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Márquez have now claimed 5 podium doubles this season.
• Alex Rins has twelve podiums from fourteen races this season and is just 14 points off the Moto3 lead, with 3 races and 75 points still remaining.
After Dani Pedrosa’s win in Malaysia and a second place for Marc Marquez, the latter has the chance to clinch the MotoGP title at the scene of his Moto2 title win last season.
The tropical climate of Sepang this week gives way to the cool spring of Phillip Island, a small island located at the southern tip of Australia. It is the scene of the sixteenth round of the MotoGP World Championship. With a fifth podium double of the season for Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez still fresh in the mind, plus the second and fourth places achieved by Alex Rins and Alex Marquez at Sepang in Moto3, the Australian Grand Prix may also be where the MotoGP title is mathematically decided.
For this to happen, Marc Marquez needs to take seven points more than Jorge Lorenzo, whilst also relying on Pedrosa not pulling back four points or more. Both Repsol Honda Team riders know what it takes to win at Phillip Island: Pedrosa was victorious there in 250cc back in 2005 and Marquez won the 2010 125cc race.
In Moto3, 14 points separates Alex Rins from the lead, after he took his twelfth podium of the season at Sepang. The Spaniard once again confirmed his candidacy for the title and was just 0.069s off a sixth win of the year. Fourth in the championship, Alex Marquez once again challenged for a podium –missing out on his fifth of the season by just 0.4s and confirming his continuing progression in the World Championship.
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Dani Pedrosa
“I’m very happy with my performance in Malaysia and the whole team did a great job. I’ve had two days of rest after the race and now we head to Phillip Island and will look to finish these three remaining races as strong as possible. The track itself is a lot of fun –the layout makes for an interesting race– and I’m also excited to testing the new asphalt. I’ve had mixed results there in the past but I’m looking forward to step up a gear and enjoy the track!”
Marc Marquez
“It was a good weekend in Malaysia and we took some very important Championship points. Now, without any time to rest, we head to Australia for the next race and we need to maintain the same direction and mentality as it’s working for us in this moment. Phillip Island will be important for the Championship as there are only three races to go and every point makes a difference, but we will try to approach it as we do every race weekend, work hard from the beginning and keep our concentration.”
Alex Rins
“The Phillip Island circuit is one of the trickiest, because it has some very fast corners and the key there is to ride very precisely and corner well. It is imperative not to brake too much coming into corners, in order to maintain speed and ensure a quick exit. As we saw in Malaysia, in this class there are many riders with the chance of being at the front in every race –not just KTM, but also Mahindra and FTR. We are highly motivated after taking second in Malaysia and it will be important to start strong in Australia right from the first practice session, because if not, then you’re going to be on the back foot and this will show in the race.”
Alex Marquez
“Last year Phillip Island suited me pretty well from the start and I took ninth. It is a track which I liked and which is very special for all that comes with it. It has very fast corners, but also two or three slow ones that make it harder to find the ideal setup, because it forces you to find a good compromise. This year we arrive in Australia after quite a good race in Malaysia, but we have to see how I have recovered physically. I will try to work a bit over the coming days and see how we start off.”
