RAUL FERNANDEZ TAKES FIRST MOTOGP WIN FOR TRACKHOUSE AT PHILLIP ISLAND
Trackhouse MotoGP rider Raul Fernandez scored his first-ever MotoGP victory by smartly managing the Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, after Aprilia teammate Marco Bezzecchi had to serve a penalty while leading.
It was a big day for both Fernandez and Trackhouse Racing, the American team that joined MotoGP just last year. Before this, Fernandez had never finished higher than fifth in a full race and had never even completed a lap inside the top three.
From the start, Bezzecchi took the lead while pole-sitter Fabio Quartararo dropped back. Fernandez fought Pedro Acosta for second place in the early laps. Acosta passed him on lap three, but Fernandez quickly took the spot back.
That turned out to be crucial, because when Bezzecchi served the first of his two long-lap penalties, for his crash with Marc Marquez in Indonesia, Fernandez moved into the lead on lap five.
Each long-lap penalty costs about two seconds, and after Bezzecchi served both, he dropped to sixth place. Meanwhile, Fernandez began to pull away, building a one-second gap, then two, and eventually three seconds.
As Fernandez stretched his lead, Alex Marquez tried to chase him down but couldn’t close the distance. Fabio Di Giannantonio, who usually performs well at Phillip Island, passed Marquez with a few laps to go and reduced the gap to 1.4 seconds, but Fernandez stayed calm and brought the win home comfortably.
Bezzecchi fought back through the field after his penalties. He overtook Quartararo, then Acosta, and finally Marquez in the closing laps to claim third place. That podium finish helped Bezzecchi move ahead of Pecco Bagnaia in the fight for third in the championship standings.
Pedro Acosta finished fifth, just 0.040 seconds ahead of Luca Marini, who was the only Honda rider to score points in sixth. Marini’s teammate Joan Mir and Johann Zarco from LCR Honda both crashed out.
Alex Rins was the top Yamaha rider in seventh after Jack Miller crashed from fifth. Rins beat several KTMs to the line, including Brad Binder, Enea Bastianini, and Pol Espargaro, who finished 8th, 9th, and 10th respectively. Quartararo ended up 11th after struggling with straight-line speed all race.
Fermin Aldeguer, winner of the Indonesian GP, ran as high as 10th but faded late to finish 14th. Bagnaia had a tough day, he crashed out while running 12th.
Fernandez took a confident first win, Di Giannantonio finished second, and Bezzecchi completed the podium. The race also confirmed Alex Marquez will almost certainly end the season as runner-up in the championship, behind his brother Marc.
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