MotoGP s World Champion retires from Australian GP due to damage to his bike, suffered when hit by another rider at Turn 1. Dani Pedrosa crashes out.
Starting from pole position, Marc Márquez was fifth at Turn 1, overtaking three riders by the end of Lap 1. He took the lead on Lap 2.
The Repsol Honda rider dropped down two places on Lap 5, before being hit by Johann Zarco. The damage to his bike prevented him from continuing the race.
Dani Pedrosa took off from eighteenth. He gained two positions off the start and was fourteenth when he crashed on Lap 12, falling at Turn 4.
MARC MÁRQUEZ:
“At first I didn’t understand exactly what had happened, but I was angry because I felt the contact from the rear. I couldn’t continue the race because my seat was broken and moving around. It was impossible to ride. When I arrived in the garage and saw the video, I understood. It was just a race incident because at that point of the track, we arrive really fast, over 300 km/h. I was behind Jack Miller when I braked even a bit later than usual, and then I felt the impact. Zarco had taken the slipstreams from the two of us. You may think he could have considered that, but for me it’s just a race incident and I already spoke with him. What I can say is that today I feel really lucky, and the most important thing for me is that both me and Johann are okay. Today I was really focused, and the race was going as expected. I led for a couple of laps, and then I decided to stay in the group and wait a bit. I had the pace and I felt I was able to fight for the win. It’s unlucky that we got a zero here at Phillip Island, but if next year I can win the title in Japan again and have another DNF here, I’ll sign up for that! Now let’s focus on the next race.”
DANI PEDROSA:
“It has been a difficult weekend. We never had a good feeling over the three days, and unfortunately I crashed out of the race. I wasn’t in a good position, and then I lost the front in the braking point after the straight—quite a big crash, as it’s a fast point. Anyway, we just have to move forward, hoping to have a better race next Sunday.”
