Repsol Honda Team Rider Pol Espargaro in the AustralianGP

Marquez makes it 100 with podium return

Australia, October 17, 2022:  357 days after his last trip to the podium, Marc Marquez became just the fourth rider in history to achieve 100 premier class podiums after a thrilling Phillip Island battle while Espargaro fought for the top ten.

Marquez makes it 100 with podium return

The sun was shining down on the Phillip Island Circuit as Marc Marquez lined up in the centre of the front row of the grid for the 27 lap race. With clear track ahead of him, the #93 charged off the line to tuck in just behind polesitter Jorge Martin for the opening half of the race as they avoided the frantic battle behind. As the laps went by, the competition grew closer and it was soon a seven-way battle for the victory – a true Phillip Island classic. It would only be decided in the closing laps, Marquez saving his soft rear for an all-out assault at the end.

Pushing until the line, for the 31st time in his MotoGP career the eight-time World Champion took second place and earned his 100th premier class podium in the process. Marc Marquez narrowly missed out on a return to the top step of the podium 0.186s behind Rins. 357 days after his last podium, achieved at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 2021, Marquez has once again taken to the rostrum. After incredible efforts to return to fitness after a fourth surgery on his injured right arm, the podium shows the great progress that Marquez is making in his ongoing recovery.

The eight-time World Champion becomes just the fourth rider to achieve 100 podium finishes in the premier class, joining Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa in an exclusive club. From 152 MotoGP starts, Marquez has achieved 59 wins and has finished in the top three in 65% of his premier-class races. The second-place finish also moves him level with Spanish legend Angel Nieto, the pair sharing 139 podiums across all Grand Prix classes.

Behind, Pol Espargaro made an aggressive start to the race as he tried to hustle his way into the top ten. He quickly found himself battling with several other riders which saw him stuck in 14th place for the opening half of the race. Sticking to his plan and conserving his tyres, the #44 began to make steady progress in the final 13 laps as he worked his way forward to 11th at the line.

Now the Repsol Honda Team head for the penultimate race of the year at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. From the cold and wind of Phillip Island, it looks set to be a classic weekend in Malaysia with scorching temperatures and high humidity. The work continues right until the end.

Marc Marquez (2nd)

“It was a great race today; I really enjoyed the battle a lot and the feeling of returning to the podium is fantastic. It has been a long journey and we have reached the next stage. The soft rear was certainly the correct option for us in the race, I felt quite good, and I was able to fight until the end. At the start I was managing the situation a little bit, but I really enjoyed the race, I tried to win! Alex Rins did really well in the last few laps. I left everything out on track today and I really enjoyed all the overtakes, especially at Turn 2 because the bike was working really well there. We are coming better but there is still work to do. It’s great to achieve this milestone of 100 premier class podiums and an honour to draw equal with Nieto but we are not done yet! 

Pol Espargaro (11th) 

“Our race today was quite similar to the last races; we were playing catch up a lot during the race. We were probably a bit closer to the front this race than in the previous ones, but the pace of the race overall was slower than we thought it would be. Again, starting so far back on the grid makes it really hard and especially at a circuit like Phillip Island – there’s a lot of turbulence and the opening laps you have to be really precise. We started the weekend well here, so we can see that there is some potential there but missing out on Q2 really hurt us. Two races left in the season; we keep on going.” 

Australian Grand Prix – Race Results 

Pos.

Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 RINS ALEX 42 SPA 25 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 40’50.654
2 MARQUEZ MARC 93 SPA 20 Repsol Honda Team Honda 0.186
3 BAGNAIA FRANCESCO 62 ITA 16 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.224
4 BEZZECCHI MARCO 73 ITA 13 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 0.534
5 BASTIANINI ENEA 23 ITA 11 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.557
6 MARINI LUCA 10 ITA 10 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 0.688
7 MARTIN JORGE 89 SPA 9 Pramac Racing Ducati 0.884
8 ZARCO JOHANN 5 FRA 8 Pramac Racing Ducati 3.141
9 ESPARGARO ALEIX 41 SPA 7 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 4.548
10 BINDER BRAD 33 RSA 6 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 5.94
11 ESPARGARO POL 44 SPA 5 Repsol Honda Team Honda 11.048
12 OLIVEIRA MIGUEL 88 POR 4 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 13.606
13 CRUTCHLOW CAL 35 GBR 3 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha 13.89
14 BINDER DARRYN 40 RSA 2 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha 14.526
15 GARDNER REMY 87 AUS 1 Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 19.47
16 FERNANDEZ RAUL 25 SPA 0 Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing KTM 20.645
17 VINALES MAVERICK 12 SPA 0 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 22.167
18 MIR JOAN 36 SPA 0 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 23.489
19 NAGASHIMA TETSUTA 45 JPN 0 LCR Honda Honda 39.618
20 DI GIANNANTONIO FABIO 49 ITA 0 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 39.633
21 MORBIDELLI FRANCO 21 ITA 0 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha DNF
22 QUARTARARO FABIO

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