PHILIP ISLAND, Australia: Britain’s Cal Crutchlow held off an extraordinary ride from Valentino Rossi to win the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Sunday as newly-crowned world champion Marc Marquez crashed out with 18 laps to go.
Marquez, who clinched his third world title last weekend in Japan, led the race from pole position and was well clear of Crutchlow when he crashed due to a braking error at turn four of the Philip Island circuit.
That handed the lead to Crutchlow who showed steady nerves to hold out the hard-charging Rossi who climbed through the field from 15th place on the grid after his worst qualifying performance in five years.
Maverick Vinales was third after starting in 13th place.
The win gave the 30-year-old Honda rider Crutchlow his second Moto GP victory after his win in the Czech Republic earlier this year, making him the first Briton since Barry Sheen to win two races in the premier class in the same season.
He completed the race in 40 minutes, 48.5 seconds, holding out Rossi by 4.2 seconds.
The rainy conditions which made practice and qualifying tricky on Friday and Saturday gave way to fine but cold weather on Sunday. The cool track surface made tire choice critical and Crutchlow, starting from second place on the grid, followed Marquez in choosing a hard compound for the front tire.
It was a risky strategy given that partly cloudy conditions mad it difficult to keep heat in the tire. When Marquez went down it was thought that tire choice might have played a part and Crutchlow admitted to a moment of concern.
“I was terrified,” Crutchlow said. “I went really weak into that corner for the whole race.
“I knew it was critical toward the end of the race. I crashed there two years ago when I had 10 seconds behind me also. I was quite scared to be honest and I didn’t want to make the same mistake but I knew I had to keep pushing or we’d lose the heat in the front tire.”
Marquez dismissed tire choice as a factor in his fall which left him unhurt.
“First of all I want to say sorry to my team because I did the mistake,” Marquez said. “I braked too late and instead of trying to go a little bit wide I tried to keep the line and I fell.
Cal Crutchlow takes Australian Moto GP as Marquez crashes
Cal Crutchlow takes Australian Moto GP as Marquez crashes
Dejected Inter return to Scudetto charge as Juve lick their wounds
- Inter are 10 points clear at the top of Serie A
- Juventus’ hopes of reaching next season’s Champions League could be hit hard in Rome on Sunday night
MILAN: Inter Milan return to their bid to reclaim the Serie A title with Saturday’s visit of Genoa after a humiliating exit from the Champions League at the hands of Bodo/Glimt.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat, with losses in both legs, to the Norwegian minnows has left questions not only about Cristian Chivu’s debut season in the Inter dugout but also about Italy’s place in the contemporary football landscape.
Inter are 10 points clear at the top of Serie A, but on Tuesday night the division’s best team were undone by prosaic attacking and an inexplicable individual error from Manuel Akanji which effectively ended the tie.
The aftermath has been despondent and blunt, with the Gazzetta Dello Sport’s Wednesday front page simply saying “no excuses” after a historically bad result for one of the world’s most important footballing nations.
Chivu’s backhanded compliments to Bodo/Glimt also rang hollow, as he said that their only playing four matches in the last three months, all in the Champions League, was a factor in Inter’s defeat.
“They had a lot more energy than us, but that’s the Champions League for you. Let’s move on,” said Chivu.
While Inter flopped on the European stage, they have dominated domestically this term with just two points dropped in their last 14 league matches.
And will be heavy favorites to at least keep their distance from Milan with their derby coming up next weekend.
Juventus’ hopes of reaching next season’s Champions League could be hit hard in Rome on Sunday night following their own painful elimination on Wednesday night.
Luciano Spalletti’s players came close to a stunning comeback against Galatasaray but left themselves with too much to do after a 5-2 thumping in the first leg, and a trip to Roma is another difficult test.
Juve trail fourth-placed Roma and champions Napoli — in third ahead of their match at Verona — by four points and are on a run of four defeats in their last six matches in all competitions.
“We still have a lot to play for in the coming months, but you can see that the team is there,” said Juve icon Giorgio Chiellini, now a club official.
“We’ve had some slips and obstacles but we’re growing.”
Lurking a point behind Juve are Como and Atalanta, with the latter at Sassuolo still basking in the glow of a stunning comeback against Borussia Dortumund and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Player to watch: Gleison Bremer
The Brazilian is by far Juve’s best defender and their collapse in Istanbul last week came soon after he had to be substituted with a thigh injury in the first half.
His return from a mercifully short lay-off will be key for Juve’s chances at Roma who have the division’s second-best home record and are gaining momentum under Gian Piero Gasperini.
Juve showed on Wednesday that they are a goal threat but Bremer will need to plug a leaky defense at the Stadio Olimpico.
Key stats
10 — Inter’s points lead at the top of the division
40 — the number of points Inter have collected in their last 14 matches
Fixtures (times GMT)
Friday
Parma v Cagliari (1945)
Saturday
Como v Lecce (1400), Verona v Napoli (1700), Inter Milan v Genoa (1945)
Sunday
Cremonese v AC Milan (1130), Sassuolo v Atalanta (1400), Torino v Lazio (1700), Roma v Juventus (1945)
Monday
Pisa v Bologna (1730), Udinese v Fiorentina (1945)
