Marc Marquez finished ninth at the head of the second group and Scott Redding finished 11th. Esteve Rabat retired with mechanical problems when in 11th place on the penultimate lap and Cameron Beaubier crashed out on the first lap.
Today’s Australian GP at Phillip Island presented a difficult challenge for the Repsol riders, with Marc Marquez’ ninth place the best result of the team. Esteve Rabat was also in the fight for ninth place when he went into boxes with mechanical problems. This in turn helped teammate Scott Redding finally take 11th place. Cameron Beaubier crashed out on the first lap and was unable to continue a race which saw winner Julian Simon claim the world championship title.
Marc Marquez had a great start, moving up three places from second row on the grid to go third into the first bend. Similarly, Esteve Rabat got away well, moving up quickly to sixth place. Nevertheless, both slipped back on the first lap, with Marc completing the first circuit in fifth and Esteve in ninth. Unfortunately, Cameron Beaubier was unable even to complete the first lap as he crashed out when his front wheel slipped away on one of the bends. The young American rider was back on the track, but finally retired from the race as the bike was still suffering the effects of the crash.
On the next lap, both Marquez and Rabat dropped further back, leading the second group, and joining battle with Sergio Gadea and Sandro Cortese for ninth place throughout the rest of the race. Finally, Marquez took ninth followed by Gadea. Esteve Rabat lost all chances of battling for ninth place after a problem with the bearings on the back wheel gradually slowed him down until forcing him to retire on the penultimate lap. A frustrating end to a good performance by the young Repsol rider.
Scott Redding was another story today, finishing 11th after starting from 24th slot on the grid. The English rider got a good start, moving up three places immediately, and by the third lap was in 17th. Passing rivals lap after lap, he finished the race in an impressive and hard fought 11th spot.
Marc Márquez, 9th +22.235 sec. >> Audio
“It wasn’t a particularly good race. We needed something extra to get up with the leaders. I had a good confident start, but right from the first lap I could see that I couldn’t get up in front. I’ve had a few problems with the chassis, mainly at the front, and the engine hasn’t really helped either. Anyway, I managed to pick up some points, which is important after drawing a blank at Estoril. We would have liked a better result here, but this was a race that I was glad to finish, because I couldn’t really do anymore. Let’s see if in Malaysia things go a bit better.”
Esteve Rabat, Retired >> Audio
“I got away to a normal start, and tried to follow the pace of the leaders, but from the last section of the first lap, I could see they were getting away and it was difficult for me. We got it wrong with the tyres and at the end the bike broke, and there was nothing I could do. I was never going well throughout the race, and the bike was gradually losing pace, until finally the bearings on the back wheel gave out.”
Scott Redding 11th +29.181 seg. >> Audio
“This was a good race for me, because it is the first I’ve completed in a long time, and I managed to climb up to 11th place. I’ve managed to advance, progressing strongly all weekend. We’ve had to fight hard, because there wasn’t so much time to practice, which stopped us from getting the bike really into shape. We also had problems with the suspension, but in the end I was traveling well with what we had. A couple of times during the race, when I opened the throttle I found I didn’t have too much grip, and I had to wait until I got a better feeling. I’m quite happy, not just for completing the first race in quite a while, but also because we had a good race and were among the points.”
Cameron Beaubier, Crashed >> Audio
“I had a good start and tucked in just behind Zanetti. I felt good, and got about three quarters of the way round the first lap, but I lost grip on the long final right-hand bend, and almost pulled it back, but then lost control of the front wheel. It was a hard crash, but the bike seemed to be all right and I tried to continue, but two laps later, the engine stopped. I’m really disappointed, because I thought I would have a good race and now that’s not the case. We’ll just have to wait until the next race.”
