MotoGP Grand Prix of Australia 2014 Results: Winner, Standings and Reaction

Valentino Rossi won a dramatic MotoGP Grand Prix of Australia at Phillip Island ahead of Yamaha teammates Jorge Lorenzo and Bradley Smith. The result was confirmed on Twitter by the official MotoGP account:

It was the 250th premier-class win of the Italian’s career, and his excellent display pushed him up to second place in the driver’s standings behind Marc Marquez. The Spaniard—who already has his world championship secured—inexplicably crashed out from the front, with another race victory seemingly at his mercy.

Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

Here are your full race results from the Australian Grand Prix:

Pos.	Rider	Nation	Team	Bike	Time/Gap
1	Valentino ROSSI	ITA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	40'46.405
2	Jorge LORENZO	SPA	Movistar Yamaha MotoGP	Yamaha	+10.836
3	Bradley SMITH	GBR	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	+12.294
4	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	ITA	Ducati Team	Ducati	+14.893
5	Hector BARBERA	SPA	Avintia Racing	Ducati	+30.089
6	Alvaro BAUTISTA	SPA	GO&FUN Honda Gresini	Honda	+30.154
7	Scott REDDING	GBR	GO&FUN Honda Gresini	Honda	+30.158
8	Hiroshi AOYAMA	JPN	Drive M7 Aspar	Honda	+33.166
9	Alex DE ANGELIS	RSM	NGM Forward Racing	Forward Yamaha	+33.577
10	Nicky HAYDEN	USA	Drive M7 Aspar	Honda	+34.144
11	Yonny HERNANDEZ	COL	Energy T.I. Pramac Racing	Ducati	+39.468
12	Danilo PETRUCCI	ITA	Octo IodaRacing Team	ART	+56.684
13	Michael LAVERTY	GBR	Paul Bird Motorsport	PBM	+1'12.813
14	Mike DI MEGLIO	FRA	Avintia Racing	Avintia	+1'28.050
Not Classified
	Cal CRUTCHLOW	GBR	Ducati Team	Ducati	1 Lap
	Pol ESPARGARO	SPA	Monster Yamaha Tech 3	Yamaha	3 Laps
	Aleix ESPARGARO	SPA	NGM Forward Racing	Forward Yamaha	7 Laps
	Stefan BRADL	GER	LCR Honda MotoGP	Honda	8 Laps
	Marc MARQUEZ	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	10 Laps
	Broc PARKES	AUS	Paul Bird Motorsport	PBM	14 Laps
	Dani PEDROSA	SPA	Repsol Honda Team	Honda	21 Laps
	Andrea IANNONE	ITA	Pramac Racing	Ducati	22 Laps
	Karel ABRAHAM	CZE	Cardion AB Motoracing	Honda	23 Laps

The world champion will have been desperately disappointed to have let this one slip, especially as he was chasing Australian icon Mick Doohan’s record of 12 race wins in a season. With pole position secured ahead of the race, it was a landmark Marquez admitted he has looking toward, per Speed TV (h/t abc.net.au):

"

It will be nice to achieve here because it's Australia, his country. It would be nice to do.

I will try to take the risk to win the race.

The records are always important, especially when people compare you with legends.

"

Rob Griffith/Associated Press

After getting away well from pole position, the Spaniard—who has 11 wins in 2014—looked well on course to equal Doohan’s haul of 12 triumphs.

But after building up a four-second buffer over the Yamaha duo of Rossi and Lorenzo with 10 laps to go, the Repsol Honda man lost the front end of his bike going into the MG corner and subsequently slid off onto the grass, as we can see here, courtesy of the official MotoGP account:

That error of judgement paved the way for Rossi and Lorenzo—who had been swapping positions regularly in the early part of the race—to mount a charge for the race win. And with the prospect of a first victory at this circuit in nine years, it was the iconic Italian that quickly took control.

Rossi surged away from Lorenzo in the second period of the race, and suddenly, the Spaniard had Cal Crutchlow in his mirrors looking to take second place. The Englishman sensed blood with Lorenzo clearly struggling for purchase in the latter stages of the race, and he overtook him with just five laps remaining, courtesy of a fine move at the hairpin.

Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

But with second place seemingly secured, the Ducati man was set for an agonising finale. On the final lap of the race at the very same place he pulled that outstanding move on Lorenzo, he lost the front of his bike and fell, as we can see here, courtesy of Crash.net:

"

Disaster for Crutchlow, who falls from second place on the final lap of the Australian #motogp! pic.twitter.com/kbvF26bcAO

— Crash.net MotoGP (@crash_motogp) October 19, 2014"

With that error went the chance for Crutchlow to take his first podium finish of the season and it allowed Smith to come through into third place, taking his first ever podium finish in MotoGP, as noted here by the official MotoGP account:

With such a dramatic battle for second and third positions, little focus was on Rossi in the latter stages, but the Italian finished the job with aplomb. It was his sixth premier-class win at the Phillip Island circuit, and he celebrated in some style, as we can see here, courtesy of the official Moto GP account:

"

#MotoGP @valeyellow46 celebrates his 2nd win of the season #NotOut #Rossi250 http://t.co/YS5yJc28ec pic.twitter.com/BsGe4d02Uw

— MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) October 19, 2014"

Former Formula 1 driver Mark Webber paid tribute to Rossi's outstanding display, which saw him come from eighth position on the grid to take the race win:

While the world title is out of reach for Rossi, finishing in second position in the world standings would represent an outstanding return for the Italian. He’s been wonderfully consistent this campaign, and while Marquez has undeniably been a class above throughout, Rossi has rolled back the years and shown that he remains a real force in the sport.

Rob Griffith/Associated Press

Just two rounds remain in the season, and if Marquez is to better Doohan’s record, then he’ll need to win both races. It’s a feat that’s far from beyond the prodigious Spaniard, but having let a position of such major dominance slip here, there’s a sense that the record could ultimately be beyond him, although that would do little to detract from what’s been a sensational campaign.

Here's how the driver's standings are shaping up with two races remaining:

Pos.	Rider	Bike	Nation	Points
1	Marc MARQUEZ	Honda	SPA	312
2	Valentino ROSSI	Yamaha	ITA	255
3	Jorge LORENZO	Yamaha	SPA	247
4	Dani PEDROSA	Honda	SPA	230
5	Andrea DOVIZIOSO	Ducati	ITA	166
6	Aleix ESPARGARO	Forward Yamaha	SPA	117
7	Pol ESPARGARO	Yamaha	SPA	116
8	Bradley SMITH	Yamaha	GBR	108
9	Andrea IANNONE	Ducati	ITA	102
10	Stefan BRADL	Honda	GER	96
11	Alvaro BAUTISTA	Honda	SPA	89
12	Scott REDDING	Honda	GBR	69
13	Cal CRUTCHLOW	Ducati	GBR	63
14	Hiroshi AOYAMA	Honda	JPN	62
15	Nicky HAYDEN	Honda	USA	44
16	Yonny HERNANDEZ	Ducati	COL	44
17	Karel ABRAHAM	Honda	CZE	33
18	Hector BARBERA	Ducati	SPA	14
19	Alex DE ANGELIS	Forward Yamaha	RSM	14
20	Danilo PETRUCCI	ART	ITA	13
21	Colin EDWARDS	Forward Yamaha	USA	11
22	Michele PIRRO	Ducati	ITA	11
23	Broc PARKES	PBM	AUS	7
24	Mike DI MEGLIO	Avintia	FRA	6
25	Michael LAVERTY	PBM	GBR	5
26	Katsuyuki NAKASUGA	Yamaha	JPN	4
27	Leon CAMIER	Honda	GBR	1