Sarko stuns in Australia with his first MotoGP™ victory

MotoGP™ racing at the Australian GP never disappoints and 2023 is no exception. Johan Zarko (Prima Pramac Racing) started from the second row and took his first win in the Premier class after catching team-mate George Martin on the final lap. The #89 suffered from excessive wear on his soft rear tire, which he chose after leading throughout the race, and eventually finished 5th behind Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), who also claimed his first trophy in the Premier class at a crucial moment for Fabio Di Giannoneto (Grassini Racing MotoGP™). , Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)

A clean start

Pole George Martin, who drove admirably on the soft rear tire compound, took the lead ahead of Brad Binder, with a very clean start. Both the Spaniard and the South African tried to set a strong pace as there was a big battle in the chase group led by Fabio di Giannoneto (Graceni Racing MotoGP™).

Di Giannantonio was unstoppable

The Italian proved he deserves to stay in the premier class. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Johan Sarko (Prima Pramac Racing), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) were battling for the final podium spot. However, as the laps progressed, the #49 increased its speed and widened the gap to its pursuers, who were engaged in a battle of their own, particularly between Marquez and Zarco, who joined Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) after he overtook. Australian “expelled”. After 11 laps, Jon Mir (Repsol Honda Team) crashed at Turn 4 after contact with Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team). The #36’s crash was the first of the race, the next due to Augusto Fernandez (Tech3 Cascas Factory Racing).

Elbows are extended

As the race tightened a bit, Zarco, Alix Espargaro and Miller were able to extend overtaking maneuvers against Marc Marquez, who was unable to maintain his pace from the early stages and had to defend himself against his brother Alex Marquez (Grezzini). Racing MotoGP™), who started the race from thirteenth place. Meanwhile, his rivals managed to get dangerously close to Di Giannantonio, but the #49 got back up and prepared his overtaking maneuver against Binder, closing the one-second gap to “Peco” and Zarco again. With 10 laps to go, Martin led by over 3 seconds.

An incredible final round

With nine laps to go, “Dikea” braked hard at the end of the straight to see the South African’s position in jeopardy as Jargo overtook “Bekko” and closed the gap. But in the final five laps, when Martin began to feel the deterioration of his soft rear tire, Sarko, Bagnaia, Di Giannantonio and Binder quickly caught him. As they crossed the finish line and the final lap came into view, the chasing pack caught up and overtook the 5th place Spaniard.

The rest of the top 10

Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was 6th ahead of national hero Jack Miller and Aleix Espargaró. Alex Marquez finished ninth and Ene Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) completed the top 10. Marc Marquez struggled with a soft rear tire and eventually finished 15th. The Tissot Sprint will take place on Sunday at 04:00 (CEST).