Post race report: Zarco seals win with thrilling last lap battle

The long-awaited return of MotoGP was back in full swing last weekend, with thousands of rev-heads flocking to catch a piece of the action.

Friday and Saturday saw picturesque scenes over Bass Strait, with Sunday’s adverse conditions being reserved for the diehard racing enthusiasts.

With two and a half days of hardcore motorsport, paired with the Royal Australian Air Force’s roulette show and the plethora of off-track entertainment, there was something for everyone.

Adrenaline was running high throughout Friday’s practice sessions which saw strong performances from the premier class as they headed out onto the tarmac.

Prima Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin took timing glory during the morning’s free practice with a time of 1:29.299.

Redbull KTM Factory Racing duo, Brad Binder and Jack Miller collectively topped the timing charts during the afternoon’s session.

Saturday’s schedule shuffle saw Jorge Martin take pole in Q2, followed on by Brad Binder and Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia making up the front row of the grid.

Johann Zarco would be the man to beat however, as the flying Frenchman took his maiden MotoGP victory during a last lap battle against teammate Jorge Martin, overtaking at Turn 4 and holding his ground until the chequered flag was waved less than a minute later.

In what was expected to be a confident win by Martin, tyre problems were evident, causing him to lose four places within the final lap, relegating him in fifth place.

Current World Champion, Pecco Bagnaia kept his place in the top five with ease as a seven-second gap between himself and the remainder of the field would emerge.

A run wide from Brad Binder – as Zarco made his first move on an over-take in the second last lap, saw room for Bagnaia to progress to fourth. Then an opportunity for an easy over-take against Gresini’s Fabio Di Giannantonio would set him confidently into third.

By the final sector, he would finish second as Martin progressively dropped down the field, with Di Giannantonio taking third place.

This currently sets Bagnaia as championship leader with 366 points.

Moto2

Speed Up Racing’s Fermín Aldeguer dominated the intermediate classes free practice sessions, consistently taking best time throughout.

This led him into Q2, going on to take pole position during Sunday morning’s wet race.

Tailing Aldeguer’s time by just under four-tenths of a second was Aron Canet, along with Alonso Lopez to make up row one of the grid.

A highside crash for Lopez during the first lap would take him out of his momentary race lead.

Sergio Garcia would then go on to progress his way from seventh on the grid to first, up until a crash in lap 13, setting Tony Arbolino as race leader.

Arbolino would lead the remainder of the race until adverse weather conditions caused it to be red flagged naming him the automatic winner.

Following on in second was Canet and Aldeguer in third.

Arbolino currently sits second in the championship with 224.5 points, behind Pedro Acosta with 280.5 points.

Moto3

The lightweight class saw BOE Motorsport’s David Muñoz top the timing charts during Friday’s practice sessions.

Saturday saw Liqui Moly Husqvarna’s Ayumu Sasaki top the third and final practice session prior to qualifying, with a time of 01:36.403.

Sasaki would go on to take to pole position in Q2.

Following on in second place on the grid would be Aussie Joel Kelso, alongside Stefano Nepa in third.

Going on to take the race victory however, would be Deniz Öncü who piloted his KTM from seventh on the grid.

Following on just under five-tenths of a second behind was pole-sitter Ayumu Sasaki.

Joel Kelso took out third place, leading him to his first career podium in the class on home soil.

Current championship leader Jaume Masia crossed the line in eighth place, managing to score himself some points - he currently sits on 217.

To keep up with more MotoGP news and the up-coming Thai Grand Prix go to www.motogp.com.