Monday, 21 October 2013 00:00
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Lorenzo wins incident - packed race
Marquez disqualified for failing to pit in time
PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia, 20 October (Reuters): Jorge Lorenzo’s MotoGP title defence remains alive after the Spaniard won an incident-packed Australian Grand Prix on Sunday, as championship leader Marc Marquez suffered a disastrous disqualification due to a howling team error.
With tyre problems forcing riders to change bikes mid-race in a MotoGP first, the battle between the two-time world champion Lorenzo and Honda’s 20-year-old wunderkind fizzled out in the 14th lap when Marquez was shown the dreaded black flag for failing to pit during the mandated window.
Riders were ordered to pit by the end of the 10th lap at the latest out of safety fears, but an oblivious Marquez sped past the Honda garage after the team somehow botched a lap count on their pitboard.
Having had the chance to wrap up the title in his debut season on Sunday and become motorcycling’s youngest premier class champion, a crushed Marquez slumped in a chair in his team’s garage with his head in his hands as Lorenzo toasted victory ahead of Honda’s Dani Pedrosa and third-placed team mate Valentino Rossi.
Pole-sitter Lorenzo was a deserving winner, however, having endured enormous pressure from the two Honda riders amid chaotic race conditions at the bucolic seaside track.
The win breathed new life into his title defence, trimming fellow Spaniard Marquez’s lead to a more precarious 18 points with two races left in Montegi and Valencia.
“Today has been a crazy race,” the affable 26-year-old said after celebrating his first win Down Under.
“With this changeover of bikes in the middle, we practised a lot before the race. So that was one of the keys.
“Now, (the title defence) is still very, very tough, let’s see what happens in Motegi.”
Still enjoying a strong lead, the championship may be Marquez’s to lose but the rookie is likely to come under fierce scrutiny from the resurgent Lorenzo and Pedrosa, who lies third in the championship and retains a mathematical chance of winning the title.
Winner at Sepang last week, Pedrosa has been irked by his team mate’s aggressive riding and there appeared little friendly about their rivalry during a fierce skirmish on the opening lap.
The Moto2 category, won by Spaniard Pol Espargaro, was also reduced to a nub of a race due to the tyre concerns, the original 25 laps cut to 13. Spaniard Alex Rins won the Moto3 category.
