ROAD RACE
FIM MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
ROUND 16 / OCTOBER 23, 2016
PHILLIP ISLAND CIRCUIT / PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA
P60
Hector Barbera on the second
factory Ducati.
By the end, Barbera would
crash out and Bradley Smith
(Monster Yamaha) joined from
behind. Then Hayden was
pushed off and down after a
touch from an over-eager Miller.
They finished: Redding,
Smith, Petrucci and Miller, over
the line inside half a second,
Bradl still close for 11th.
Second Aprilia rider Alvaro
Bautista narrowly held off Yonny
Hernandez (Aspar Ducati) for
12th after a long battle. The
Colombian's teammate Eugene
Dovizioso and soon able to pull
clear. He was closing on Rossi
at the finish, but it was too late
for better than third, which was,
in turn, better than he had ever
expected.
Behind the lone Lorenzo, who
blamed continuing problems on
low-grip tracks, six riders were
furiously engaged, swapping
back and forth lap after lap.
The gang comprised Miller,
one-race Repsol Honda rider
Nicky Hayden (replacing injured
Pedrosa), Petrucci and Pramac
Ducati teammate Scott Redding,
plus Stefan Bradl (Aprilia) and
Lorenzo on lap six, Espargaro's
Yamaha six laps later, and
now closed quickly on the pair
ahead.
Their skirmish lasted several
laps, Aleix Espargaro foiling
every overtaking move, while
Dovizioso's Ducati kept reversing
any Suzuki passes as he pow-
ered down the straight, setting
the fastest top speed of the
weekend.
It was resolved when Espar-
garo became another victim of
a front-wheel wash-out under
braking for the hairpin on lap 23,
by when Vinales was ahead of
