Starting from pole position, Marc Márquez was fifth at Turn 1, overtaking three riders by the end of Lap 1. He took the lead on Lap 2.
Unfortunately, the 2018 World Champion was forced to retire after his bike was damaged during contact with Johan Zarco: the Frenchman unexpectedly struck the tail of Marquez’s bike while braking into the fast turn one at the end of the main straight and crashed out, luckily without consequences. Marc was able to keep control of his shaking machine and avoided a crash himself, but he couldn’t continue his podium quest and entered the pit.
Marc Márquez: “At first I didn’t understand exactly what had happened, but I was angry because I felt the contact from the rear. I couldn’t continue the race because my seat was broken and moving around. It was impossible to ride. When I arrived in the garage and saw the video, I understood. It was just a race incident because at that point of the track, we arrive really fast, over 300 km/h. I was behind Jack Miller when I braked even a bit later than usual, and then I felt the impact. Zarco had taken the slipstreams from the two of us”.
“You may think he could have considered that, but for me it’s just a race incident and I already spoke with him. What I can say is that today I feel really lucky, and the most important thing for me is that both me and Johann are okay”.
“Today I was really focused, and the race was going as expected. I led for a couple of laps, and then I decided to stay in the group and wait a bit. I had the pace and I felt I was able to fight for the win. It’s unlucky that we got a zero here at Phillip Island, but if next year I can win the title in Japan again and have another DNF here, I’ll sign up for that! Now let’s focus on the next race”.
