MotoGP: ‘Important result’ for Marquez at Phillip Island

Marc Marquez has hailed last weekend’s stunning victory at the Australian Grand Prix as an ‘important result’ for him as he starts to eke out a lead in the 2017 MotoGP championship over Italian Andrea Dovizioso.

Biding his time in Sunday’s race to strike when he needed to for the win while Dovizioso struggled just inside the points, potentially ending his title hopes as the Repsol Honda rider capitalised on his difficulties.

“We are happy of course to go to Malaysia having won at Phillip Island. I knew that it was very important to get a good result in Australia and try to open a bit of a gap before Sepang, which is a demanding round, and where Dovi won last season. One of the main thing there is the humidity. And the high temperatures of course.

“I think it’s one of the more difficult race under the point of view of the physical conditions. One good thing is that the tarmac is good now as it has been re-surfaced not long ago. The grip also is nice. We’ll see how the situation will be and will try to manage it at the best for the Championship.”

Marquez now leads Dovizioso by 33 points, with 50 left on the board from the season’s final two races at Sepang and at Valencia.