Lorenzo hits the Marc
Ducati star beats Marquez in last-gasp thriller
Jorge Lorenzo stamped his authority on the Austrian Grand Prix on Sunday by becoming the third Ducati rider in three years to stand on top of the podium at the Red Bull Ring. The five-time world champion showed that, even at 31, he is capable of learning new techniques with a change of riding style to take an unlikely win after a frenetic last lap battle with series leader Marc Marquez. Showing the sort of aggression usually associated with the hardcharging Marquez, Lorenzo was able to take the fight to his fellow Spaniard and 2019 team-mate until the final laps, eventually coming out on top after going bar to bar with his Repsol Honda rival. Although looking in the early stages as if he was holding up team-mate Andrea Dovizioso in third as Marquez broke away, Lorenzo admitted afterwards he was managing the situation after making a surprise choice of a soft front and rear tyre.
“I made a big change in sector three after watching some videos and then changing the position of my body on the bike. It really worked because I was able to improve in that sector and catch Marc there despite losing a lot in that area last year. “Thanks to that I was able to manage the tyre in the beginning and that meant I could wait for my moment and go when Marc started to lose some grip. The problem when you’re with Marc is that you know he’ll always be on your tail until the end and it was a fight between two ambitious riders right up to the last corner.” However, Ducati are losing their star man in 2019 and, worse still, team-mate Andrea Dovizioso, upon who Ducati’s hopes next year rest, is demoralised. Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi told MCN: “How aggressive Jorge was showed a new side to him. He fought and won against an incredible Marc Marquez.”
But while there was much jubilation in the Ducati squad following Lorenzo’s win, Tardozzi made no secret of his sadness that the Spaniard will leave the team at the end of the season. “We’ve given Honda a great gift, but he’ll miss the Ducati family too. He’ll be tough to beat next year, but even though he’ll be a competitor he’ll also still be a friend. And never say never about the future.” Lorenzo’s victory propelled him up the championship standings and he now sits third, 71 points behind Marquez, 12 points behind Valentino Rossi but now significantly one point ahead of Dovizioso and 17 in front of the struggling Maverick Viñales. Marquez was not riding with the championship in mind as the race reached its climax. The Repsol Honda rider conceded after the race that while it might have been his natural instinct to attack, it probably wasn’t the smartest decision he could have made. “In Brno I didn’t try because I didn’t feel great and there was more to lose than there was to win, but here I felt I could win. I tried to push from the beginning and the goal was to try to get to the end with only one Ducati. We achieved our goal, even though I expected that it would be Dovi and not Jorge. “On the last lap I had to try, because I’m Marc Marquez and that’s what I do, but in every short straight he was able to overtake me or at least get alongside me. I tried to defend, I tried to lead on the last lap, but I lost both tyres at turn three and I don’t know how I stayed on the bike. But I tried and I enjoyed it a lot.”
‘We have given Honda a great gift’