Andrea Dovisiozo (Ducati Team) wins at Austria’s Red Bull Ring, confirming Ducati’s dominance. Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda Team) closely follows in second after and exciting battle, with teammate Dani Pedrosa (Repsol Honda Team) in 3rd.
Interesting start to the race, with Danilo Petrucci (Pramac OCTO Racing) failing to launch resulting in a wheelie and the Italian losing places. Jorge Lorenzo (Ducati Team) and Marc Márquez have a good start, with Lorenzo quickly taking the lead and building a gap. Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP) also managed a good start and is already in fourth trying to get past Andrea Dovisiozo, but doesn’t manage to find a way through.
Rossi then gets attacked by his teammate Maverick Viñales (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), they almost touch in the battle and the latter loses 3 places. While Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jonas Folger (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) abandon after problems at the start.
After Jorge Lorenzo managed to create a gap, Marc Márquez is back closing in on the Spaniard. The latter makes a mistake, with Andrea Dovisiozo directly taking advantage of it and passing the official Honda driver. Both Ducati’s are now in the lead of the race, with a curious different choice of tyre.
The top 6 riders are now really close to one another, followed by Maverick Viñales who seems to have a difficulty holding the top 6’s rhythm. Dani Pedrosa being the quickest of that group. Marc Marquez is still really close to Andrea Dovisiozo and passes the Italian to regain 2nd spot, slowly closing in on Jorgen Lorenzo. Marquez is on a charge and also manages to pass Lorenzo like a cannonball.
This race is bringing us beautiful battles, especially at the front of the field. Both Ducati’s battling it out with Marc Márquez, ending up with all three riders lined up next to each other. Marc Márquez eventually takes the advantage, followed by Andrea Dovisiozo and Jorge Lorenzo, who loses 2 spots in a blink. Further back we see Johann Zarco (Monster Yamaha Tech 3) attacking Valentino Rossi and passes the official Yamaha driver easily, looking really strong on his bike. While Rossi really seems to struggle and also gets passed by Pedrosa and teammate Viñales.
The leader of the race, Marc Márquez, is now pulling away taking Andrea Dovisiozo with him. The battle for the win is on, with the Ducati still being the favourite for the win, but Marquez could be the surpise of the day. Marquez’s teammate Dani Pedrosa is also looking very strong in 4th, getting it on with the other official Ducati of Jorge Lorenzo. The Spaniard showing how confident and strong he is on the bike, passes Lorenzo for 3rd place.
Marquez misses a turn and Dovizioso immediately takes the opportunity and gets in the lead. This is the start of an exciting battle for the top spot between Dovisiozo and Márquez. Alternating position every x turn, making it impossible to predict who could possibly win the race. The last lap will be the most exciting one, with Dovisiozo in the lead, followed on the heel by Marc Márquez who is trying everything to get past the Italian. The Spaniard attacks in the last sector, trying to get passed through the inside and when that doesn’t work he tries the outside which eventually results in a close call between them. Andrea Dovisiozo manages the win on the line, with just a 0.179 seconds gap on championship leader Marc Márquez.
Results:
Pos. | Rider | Nation | Team | Bike | Time/Gap |
1 | Andrea DOVIZIOSO | ITA | Ducati Team | Ducati | 39’43.323 |
2 | Marc MARQUEZ | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +0.176 |
3 | Dani PEDROSA | SPA | Repsol Honda Team | Honda | +2.661 |
4 | Jorge LORENZO | SPA | Ducati Team | Ducati | +6.663 |
5 | Johann ZARCO | FRA | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | +7.262 |
6 | Maverick VIÑALES | SPA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +7.447 |
7 | Valentino ROSSI | ITA | Movistar Yamaha MotoGP | Yamaha | +8.995 |
8 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | SPA | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | +14.515 |
9 | Loris BAZ | FRA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | +19.620 |
10 | Mika KALLIO | FIN | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +19.766 |
11 | Andrea IANNONE | ITA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +20.101 |
12 | Scott REDDING | GBR | OCTO Pramac Racing | Ducati | +25.523 |
13 | Aleix ESPARGARO | SPA | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +26.700 |
14 | Karel ABRAHAM | CZE | Pull&Bear Aspar Team | Ducati | +27.321 |
15 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | GBR | LCR Honda | Honda | +28.096 |
16 | Alex RINS | SPA | Team SUZUKI ECSTAR | Suzuki | +32.912 |
17 | Hector BARBERA | SPA | Reale Avintia Racing | Ducati | +34.112 |
18 | Bradley SMITH | GBR | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | +36.423 |
19 | Tito RABAT | SPA | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | +42.404 |
20 | Sam LOWES | GBR | Aprilia Racing Team Gresini | Aprilia | +52.492 |
Jack MILLER | AUS | EG 0,0 Marc VDS | Honda | 9 Laps | |
Danilo PETRUCCI | ITA | OCTO Pramac Racing | Ducati | 22 Laps | |
Jonas FOLGER | GER | Monster Yamaha Tech 3 | Yamaha | 25 Laps | |
Pol ESPARGARO | SPA | Red Bull KTM Factory Racing | KTM | 26 Laps |