MOTOGP
FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 17 / OCTOBER 25-27, 2019
PHILLIP ISL AND CIRCUIT / PHILLIP ISL AND, AUSTRALIA
P62
BY MICHAEL SCOTT
PHOTOGRAPHY BY GOLD & GOOSE
M
arquez the Merciless
added to his reputation
and his trophy cabinet
again on Sunday, October 27, in
Australia. For a third time in the
last five races, he waited until the
start of the final lap to pounce.
This time the victim was Maverick
Vinales, and by the end of the
lap, the Monster Yamaha rider
wasn't there any longer.
Trying desperately to regain
the lead he'd held for most of the
race, his rear grip gone, Vinales
had one last chance to attack the
Repsol Honda—under braking for
the Turn-10 hairpin. But he never
made it. In the change of direc-
tion over the preceding Lukey
Heights, the rear tire let go and
he was down and out.
The lack of mercy showed
also when Marquez passed early
leader Cal Crutchlow (LCR Cas-
trol Honda) for second behind
Vinales—so close that he almost
removed the British rider's glove.
"I was pushing it back on all down
the straight," said Crutchlow.
Already crowned champion,
Marquez's fifth win in a row was
his 11th this year and the 55th in
his career—putting him one ahead
of Mick Doohan as the most suc-
cessful Honda rider.
The strategy, he said, was
the same that he had employed
to defeat Fabio Quartararo at
Misano and in Thailand, "but this
time the difference was bigger."
He went on to say, "When I
passed Cal it was on the limit, but
MARC MARQUEZ SHOWED HIS BLOODLUST, ONCE
AGAIN, PLAYING WITH MAVERICK VINALES AND THEN
STRIKING LIKE A SNIPER IN AUSTRALIA
BLOODLUST
