Dovizioso saves best till last to win Austrian MotoGP at final bend
2019 Austrian MotoGP - Red Bull Ring, Spielberg - Race Results : Andrea Dovizioso gets the better of Marc Marquez on the final corner of the Austrian MotoGP
ANDREA DOVIZIOSO clawed back ground on Marc Marquez in the 2019 MotoGP World Championship after a last gasp final corner overtake in the Austrian MotoGP at the Red Bull Ring.
In a repeat of previous showdowns between the two title contenders, Dovizioso saved his best until last to pass the Repsol Honda rider and out-drag him up to chequered flag, giving him a second win of the season and Ducati its third. It's Ducati's fourth win in successve years at the Red Bull Ring.
Neutralising Marquez's recent strategy of being able to escape at the front, Dovizioso tracked him once they had droppped early leader Fabio Quartararo, Dovizioso sizing up his chances against the Repsol Honda rider as he took rthe lead with eight laps remaining.
Marquez fought back with two laps to go with a composed pass at Turn 7, but his Italian rival fought back with a last gasp attempt at the final corner, executed to perfection as he held out long enough to keep Marquez from making the undercut on the run to the line, delivering the Spaniard only his fourth defeat of the year in style.
Quartararo stars again as Rossi returns to form
Quartararo made good on his strong start from the front row to hold onto third position, the second MotoGP podium of his hugely impressive rookie season. The Petronas SRT Yamaha rider's effort overshadowed a decent return to form for Valentino Rossi, who had the measure of Maverick Vinales in fourth and fifth, but had no answer to the Frenchman ahead.
Alex Rins notched up more good points for Suzuki in sixth, while Pecco Bagnaia converted his best qualifying effort of the year in fifth to finish seventh, bringing some joy to Pramac Ducati after Jack Miller crashed out of fourth on lap eight.
Rookies shine in Austria
Miguel Oliveira notched up easily his best MotoGP result to date as he emerged as the surprise leading contender for KTM on the team's home soil, the Portuguese rider marking a strong day all round for the rookie contingent after Quartararo and Bagnaia's efforts just ahead.
Given the rumours surrounding Miller and his 2020 MotoGP ride, Ducati may be asking questions of his signed but out-of-form factory rider Danilo Petrucci, who finished well down the order in ninth on a day that belonged to his team-mate 17secs up the road. Similarly, Franco Morbidelli will be asking questions down in tenth - 14secs behind Quartararo - on a generally poor weekend.
Takaaki Nakagami couldn't make his second row start count in 11th, though the LCR Honda man fared better than Cal Crutchlow, who failed to finish.
Danilo Petrucci’s poor run of form continued down in ninth place for the factory Ducati squad as Franco Morbidelli rounded out the top 10 for Petronas Yamaha. KTM’s Johann Zarco and Stefan Bradl, Aleix Espargaro and Karel Abraham completed the points.
