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In a hard fought battle, Factory Ducati rider Jorge Lorenzo defied Marc Marquez of his first win at Austrian Grand Prix. The tussle between Lorenzo and Marquez filled life to an overall insipid race at Red Bull Ring- Spielberg circuit. Marquez was made to settle for the second place, similar to the last year result. Last year winner and Factory Ducati's Andrea Dovizioso finished third to secure a podium finish.
Starting from the third on the grid, Jorge Lorenzo made an early move on the Marquez at turn 2 to claim the lead. But, Marquez was quick enough to take back the first position in the lead. Factory Yamaha's Valentino Rossi also made a decent start to pick up three places in the first two laps after starting from 14th on the grid.
Ducati once again looked dominating at Red Bull Ring- Spielberg Circuit with Lorenzo and Andrea Dovizioso at the second and the third place in the procession. They kept Marquez and each other under pressure and exchanged places a few times. Marquez handled the pressure well to keep them at bay until Lorenzo made move at turn 2 on him for a narrow stay in the lead in the 17th lap.
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Lorenzo, who was riding with both soft tires, once again charged and overtook Marquez in the next lap. After being in at the second for 5 laps, Marquez escalated the attack in the 23rd lap but failed to make the move. Amidst all, Andrea Dovizioso dropped significantly but stayed in the third place. He found sticking with the two difficult.
After a brief 'cat and mouse' between Marquez and Lorenzo, the latter owned the lead to win at Austrian GP. Marquez pushed his limits to the extreme on few occasion but couldn't hold Lorenzo from winning.
LCR rider Cal Crutchlow ran a lonely race and finished 8 seconds behind Dovizioso at the fourth place. Pramac Ducati rider Danilo Petrucci and Suzuki rider Alex Rins were fast on the circuit and finished in 5th and the 8th place respectively.
Valentino Rossi didn't have a good weekend and constantly faced troubles to find pace on track in practice sessions. But he managed well to finish in the sixth place.
Dani Pedrosa, Johann Zarco, and Alvaro Bautista finished in 7th, 9th, and the 10th place respectively. Maverick Vinales, Factory Yamaha rider, slipped one place from his qualifying results to finish in the 12th place.
Race Results
Championship Standings
Jorge Lorenzo, with his third win of the season, has leapfrogged to the third place, ahead of Andrea Dovizioso and Maverick Vinales. He is now 12 points behind Valentino Rossi, who is second in the championship with 142 points. Marc Marquez has extended his lead over Rossi and is now leading the championship with 201 points.
MotoGP action will now move to Silverstone in London for its next round.
