Mighty McLaughlin rules Phillip Island
MOTOGP promised tougher sanctions for dangerous racing.
Marc Marquez is the first to feel their sting.
Marquez thought his blistering pace on his Repsol Honda had secured yet another pole position at the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas.
Then it was gone, snatched away with a penalty for interfering with a hot lap by Movistar Yamaha rival Maverick Vinales.
That means Marquez, who has dominated the Circuit of the Americas since 2013, will not start on pole for the first time in six years when the race starts early this morning.
Townsville’s Jack Miller also had a tough run, finishing qualifying in 18th position.
It offers a sliver of hope to the rest of the field that someone else might top the Texas podium.
That could be Vinales, who got the bump up to pole position.
Marquez seemed unruffled by the penalty.
He was at ease and smiling during the post- qualifying news conference just minutes after the sanction was announced.
“I went fastest. Tomorrow will be the race,” Marquez said.
“My style is my style. Maverick has a good pace and maybe tomorrow in the race he can be faster than me.”
But the penalty means yet another week of racing controversy for the four- time MotoGP champion.
MotoGP officials had promised tougher penalties after a wild race in Argentina that saw Marquez in the middle of several crashes and dust- ups with other riders.
Marquez was penalised three times in Argentina. SCOTT McLaughlin is winning his latest war against Jamie Whincup with the DJR Team Penske gun conquering Phillip Island to steal the championship lead.
Just five months after suffering a heartbreaking title defeat to the Holden immortal in a thrilling finale, the Ford flyer yesterday made it two from two at the famous Victorian circuit to earn a 142- point lead on his rival.
On a perfect weekend for V8s next big thing, McLaughlin powered by Dave Reynolds to win every major session of the race weekend.
McLaughlin was cool following his chart- topping weekend with the memory of last year’s defeat still fresh.
“I will worry about ( the champion- ship) later on,’’ McLaughlin said.
“Everyone knows what happened last year. I know I need to stay consistent all year to get it done and it is something I did not do last year. Today was a good start.’’
McLaughlin continued his one- lap blitz earlier when he scored his sixth straight qualifying win at Phillip Island.
Going back- to- back a day after stealing the championship lead from Whincup, McLaughlin blasted a 1.29.85 to continue Ford’s fightback.
“It’s awesome. I’m very lucky, I’m driving a very good car in a great team, and prior to that I was driving a great car as well,” McLaughlin said.
“That lap was OK. At Turn 1, I wish we could have gone a little bit better there, I’m always chasing more.
“Today was harder because there was less grip on the track, it was very slippery out there, so it was quite loose, driving like a go- kart almost and just having a lot of fun.
“I’m living the dream. I can’t wipe the smile off my face.”
Reynolds set up his battle with McLaughlin by blasting his way to a front- row start.
“We actually learnt a lot off Anton ( De Pasquale, teammate) yesterday,” Reynolds said.
“He ran a different set- up and was miles faster than me, so we stole his ideas and implemented them to our go. Thanks brother.”
McLaughlin held off a determined Reynolds to win the start and went about putting on a gap.
But James Courtney prompted a safety car just seven laps in when his Commodore was struck down by a mechanical failure.
In a pit- lane scramble, Rick Kelly found his way to the front with the veteran short filling to steal the lead.
An average stop and a questionable strategy saw McLaughlin rejoin the race in fourth place as Reynolds emerged in second after taking on a similar amount of fuel.
The race reached fever pitch after the second round of stops with McLaughlin ending up in a fight with Reynolds for the lead.
In a well planned and perfectly executed move, McLaughlin stole back the lead on lap 30 when he drove past Reynolds to find the front.
Whincup, who copped a race one penalty, finished in ninth to end a weekend of pain.