One week after championship triumph at Honda’s home circuit of Motegi, treacherous conditions brought disappointment to the factory Repsol Honda RC213V riders, Marc Marquez and Dani Pedrosa, neither of whom finished today’s Australian GP.

Out of 23 starters, nine didn’t make the finish in dry but rapidly cooling conditions that undermined tyre choices and brought dreams crashing to earth. Both factory-backed Honda riders were in that number, along with satellite rider Stefan Bradl (LCR Honda RC213V). It was the first time since the Portuguese GP in 2010 that the Repsol Honda team has suffered a double DNF.

New double World Champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda RC213V) had built up a significant lead of almost five seconds after 18 of 27 laps of the scenic seaside Phillip Island circuit. Braking on the downhill approach to a tight corner the front wheel suddenly locked and tucked under, and he fell unhurt.

Team-mate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda RC213V) had already fallen innocent victim to another rider’s error. The former 125cc and double 250cc champion was caught up in a tight pursuit pack after only five laps when a crashing Andrea Iannone (Ducati) slammed into him from behind. Pedrosa retained control, but his bike was too badly damaged by the impact to continue, and he had to pull into the pits to retire with a buckled back wheel.

A number of other riders crashed for the same reason as Marquez, as before the race the wind direction switched from a warm land breeze to an icy blast off the freezing Bass Strait adjacent to the circuit. Track temperature continued to fall through the race, playing badly against the special hard-construction high-endurance tyres. Bridgestone had made them especially for this circuit, after catastrophically high wear rates last year forced the race to be cut into two halves.

The race was won by veteran multi-champion Valentino Rossi (Yamaha), with his team-mate Jorge Lorenzo a fading second, inheriting the position only after Cal Crutchlow (Ducati) had a similar crash under braking on the final lap.

The result makes no difference to Marquez’s championship: he was already unassailable, after winning eleven of the first 12 races. But with two rounds remaining, it does mean he will have to wait for another chance to equal former Honda serial champion Mick Doohan’s record of 12 wins in a single season.

But a zero score was costly for Pedrosa, who has held second overall for most of the season, in spite of requiring surgery at the start of the European season after suffering arm-pump problems. Now both Rossi and Lorenzo have overtaken his points score.

It also means Honda will have to wait for the chance to secure the constructors’ championship. The points lead is 45, with a maximum of 50 to be won over the last two races – a strong but not yet unassailable advantage.

The top-scoring Honda was the fourth RC213V rider Alvaro Bautista (GO&FUN Gresini Honda RC213V), who came through on the last lap to lead his team-mate Scott Redding over the line by four thousands of a second, a matter of inches, for sixth place. Redding races the production-racer version of the class-leading RC213V – the RCV1000R, built for this year’s new Open category rules. Seventh today equalled the youngest-ever grand prix winner’s season best, in his first year in the premier class.

A second of these close replicas of the class-leading V4 MotoGP prototype was eighth, with former 250cc champion Hiroshi Aoyama (Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R) heading a close trio over the line within less than a second. Second Drive M7 Aspar Honda RCV1000R rider Nicky Hayden was tenth. Hayden, Honda’s 2006 World Champion, is in his third race back after missing four rounds following radical surgery to his right wrist in the summer break.

Czech law graduate Karel Abraham (Cardion AB Motoracing Honda RCV1000R) was an early casualty, falling out on the fifth lap after climbing from 23rd to 18th.


Alvaro Bautista, GO&FUN Gresini Honda, 6th

“Today we got the best possible result, the maximum we could expect. During the race I had the same bad feelings I had throughout the whole weekend; in addition, in the last few laps the rear tyre dropped down a lot, beginning to spin also in the straight. For this reason I couldn’t push hard in the final stages to try to open a gap from the riders with whom I was battling. Anyway, today we faced a difficult race, with many crashes, and it was definitely not easy to finish. We did it, so we must be happy for that. However, it’s clear that I’m not happy, because I still don’t find myself comfortable with the bike and I hope that in Malaysia the situation can improve, since I have a good memory of the test we have carried out there last February. Finally, I wish to thank the team, because they are all giving more than 100 percent in these difficult times.”

Scott Redding, GO&FUN Gresini Honda, 7th

“I was in fifth going into the last corner, but Barbera and Alvaro passed me to the finish line thanks to their more powerful bikes, so I’m a little bit gutted for that because it would have been nice to make a top five finish today, even though I know that many riders crashed. I made a mistake in the early stages of the race: I almost hit the back of Hernandez and I went straight into Turn 4, losing four seconds, so I had to recover and catch up the other Open Honda bikes. Then I started to find my rhythm and it was good battling with Hayden and Alvaro. I also managed to open a little gap, but in the end the more powerful Honda and Ducati bikes started to catch me, and we fought all the way until the last corner. It was a really nice race, I enjoyed it a lot!”

Hiroshi Aoyama, Drive M7 Aspar Honda, 8th

“It was quite a tough race. The temperature changed from yesterday, with a very cold wind. Some riders chose the hard tyre, but after I crashed on Friday with that one I concentrated on the soft front, and I think it was the right choice. It was okay until the last part of the race. I couldn’t get a good feeling at the beginning, but I could stay in the group. After that, the balance came better, with good grip front and rear, but there were a lot of riders in front of me and I wasn’t able to pass them. Also the strong wind meant it was not easy to manage the braking points I think I could have done better, but today overall was a survival race, and to finish was important.”

Nicky Hayden, Drive M7 Aspar Honda, 10th

“I got a decent start, but in the first corner I lost some positions after somebody closed the door on me and I ended up running off. There were only one or two people behind me, but I was able to recover, move up, and I thought I could do a good race. I was racing with Hernandez’s Ducati, but when his tyre went off, mine lasted better, and I was quicker than him on acceleration, but on the straightaways he could come back past, and that let the group get away. On paper tenth is not too bad, but I expected better.”

Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda, DNF

"Today, because I had no pressure on me, I tried a different approach pushing hard from the start to try to open the largest gap possible. We were having a good race, right up until the crash. It was a pity that I went down at a time that I was not riding on the limit or faster than the lap before. It was a race where there were many crashes, and almost all happened the same way: the front wheel locking up. The temperatures were down a lot, something that was also a factor today. It is better that this happened now, so that I gain experience for next year. You don’t always have the opportunity to try things out.”

Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda, DNF

"We had no luck today. I didn't get a good start, I lost a lot on the opening two laps and I ended up in a position in which I was left exposed to what happened afterwards. When you are riding amongst so many riders in this part of the field there are always incidents, and today it happened to me. Fortunately I didn't crash, but the bike was damaged and I couldn't continue."

Stefan Bradl, LCR Honda, DNF

“Actually we were doing a good job during the race. All the weekend we struggled a lot with the tyre situation and we could not find our standard pace. Also starting from the eleventh spot was not easy but finally in the race I found my pace. Then Iannone took out Pedrosa and I dropped back because I had to go wide. After that I pushed to come back and I was in the group with Dovi, Pol, Aleix and Bradley and I could match their pace. Unfortunately I made a mistake when I wanted to pass the guy in front of me in the hairpin and I could not brake hard enough and my front tyre hit Aleix’s bike. I crashed out and Aleix had to retire. I am very sorry for him and his crew. We have to keep going now and do our maximum in Sepang next week.”

Karel Abraham, Cardion AB Motoracing, DNF

“I don’t know what happened in that corner. It was high-sider from the front and the electronics did not get it, so I don’t know the reason. The lap before I rode in same way. Mentally I feel very bad now. We have no points from tracks, which are good for us. It is hard to speak about that. And it is even more difficult when you know that many riders crashed so there was big opportunity to grab some points.”


Event results - Round 16

1 Valentino Rossi 40'46.405 ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
2 Jorge Lorenzo 10.836 ESP YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Bradley Smith 12.294 GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
4 Andrea Dovizioso 14.893 ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
5 Hector Barbera 30.089 ESP AVINTIA Avintia Racing
6 Alvaro Bautista 30.154 ESP HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini
7 Scott Redding 30.158 GBR HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini
8 Hiroshi Aoyama 33.166 JPN HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
9 Alex de Angelis 33.577 RSM FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
10 Nicky Hayden 34.144 USA HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
11 Yonny Hernandez 39.468 COL DUCATI Pramac Racing
12 Danilo Petrucci 56.684 ITA ART IodaRacing Project
13 Michael Laverty 1'12.813 WAL PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
14 Mike De Meglio 1'28.050 FRA AVINTIA Avintia Racing
15 Cal Crutchlow DNF GBR DUCATI Ducati Team
16 Pol Espargaro DNF ESP YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
17 Aleix Espargaro DNF ESP FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
18 Stefan Bradl DNF GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
19 Marc Marquez DNF ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
20 Broc Parkes DNF AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
21 Dani Pedrosa DNF ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
22 Andrea Iannone DNF ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing
23 Karel Abraham DNF CZE HONDA Cardion AB Motoracing

Championship standings

1 Marc Marquez 312 pts ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
2 Valentino Rossi 255 pts ITA YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
3 Jorge Lorenzo 247 pts ESP YAMAHA Yamaha Factory Racing
4 Dani Pedrosa 230 pts ESP HONDA Repsol Honda Team
5 Andrea Dovizioso 166 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
6 Aleix Espargaro 117 pts ESP FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
7 Pol Espargaro 116 pts ESP YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
8 Bradley Smith 108 pts GBR YAMAHA Monster Yamaha Tech 3
9 Andrea Iannone 102 pts ITA DUCATI Pramac Racing
10 Stefan Bradl 96 pts GER HONDA LCR Honda MotoGP
11 Alvaro Bautista 89 pts ESP HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini
12 Scott Redding 70 pts GBR HONDA GO&FUN Honda Gresini
13 Cal Crutchlow 63 pts GBR DUCATI Ducati Team
14 Hiroshi Aoyama 62 pts JPN HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
15 Yonny Hernandez 44 pts COL DUCATI Pramac Racing
16 Nicky Hayden 43 pts USA HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
17 Karel Abraham 33 pts CZE HONDA Cardion AB Motoracing
18 Hector Barbera 14 pts ESP AVINTIA Avintia Racing
19 Alex de Angelis 14 pts RSM FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
20 Danilo Petrucci 13 pts ITA ART IodaRacing Project
21 Michele Pirro 11 pts ITA DUCATI Ducati Team
22 Colin Edwards 11 pts USA FORWARD YAMAHA NGM Forward Racing
23 Broc Parkes 7 pts AUS PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
24 Mike De Meglio 6 pts FRA AVINTIA Avintia Racing
25 Michael Laverty 5 pts WAL PBM Paul Bird Motorsport
26 Katsuyuki Kakasuga 4 pts JPN YAMAHA YAMALUBE Racing Team
27 Leon Camier 1 pts GBR HONDA Drive M7 Aspar
28 Michel Fabrizio 0 pts ITA ART IodaRacing Project

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