Marquez wins in Australia to extend title lead

MARC MARQUEZ moved to within touching distance of a fourth MotoGP world title with victory at the Australian Grand Prix yesterday, his sixth win of the season giving him a 33-point lead over nearest rival Andrea Dovizioso with two races remaining.

The 24-year-old Honda rider prevailed after another Phillip Island thriller with the top eight riders duking it out over 27 laps and the lead changing hands on almost every corner at some stages.

Marquez, clipped by French rookie Johann Zarco early in the race, bided his time and hit the front six laps from the end before racing away to take the chequered flag and moving to 269 points in the championship.

Ducati’s Dovizioso, meanwhile, had started from 11th on the grid after a disappointing qualifying and his misery was complete when he was passed by Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa and Scott Redding on the final lap to finish 13th.

That left the Italian on 236 points with only 50 up for grabs in the final two rounds of the championship in Malaysia and Valencia.

“Amazing, amazing, I knew before the race that today was an important day,” said Marquez.

“Dovy was struggling a little bit this weekend and I was feeling really good. In the race I was just waiting, waiting, waiting, waiting. And then when there were seven, eight laps remaining, I just gave it everything.

“The fight was amazing.” – AFP