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
Man United climb to third, Fulham sink sorry Spurs
- Red Devils have taken their tally to 19 points from a possible 21
LONDON: Benjamin Sesko stretched his hot streak with the winning goal as Manchester United beat Crystal Palace 2-1 to go third in the Premier League, while Tottenham failed to dispel relegation fears after defeat at Fulham.
Sesko was handed his first start in seven games since Michael Carrick took charge at Old Trafford and rewarded his boss with another vital goal to edge United closer to a return to the Champions League.
Palace had taken an early lead at Old Trafford when Maxence Lacroix outmuscled Leny Yoro to guide in a header from Brennan Johnson’s corner.
But United hit back to remain unbeaten under Carrick and take their tally to 19 points from a possible 21.
The game swung on one incident as Lacroix was sent off and conceded a penalty for pulling back Matheus Cunha just before the hour mark.
Bruno Fernandes confidently stroked the resulting spot kick past former teammate Dean Henderson.
Fernandes was then the creator for the second as his curling cross was powered in by Sesko.
The Slovenian has now scored seven times in his last eight appearances to quieten critics of his £74 million ($100 million) price tag after a slow start to his career in England.
Tottenham remain perilously poised just four points above the relegation zone as interim boss Igor Tudor again failed to halt their alarming slide after a 2-1 defeat at Craven Cottage.
Harry Wilson and Alex Iwobi gave Fulham a deserved half-time lead as they moved up to ninth and back into contention for European football next season.
Richarlison headed in a late consolation for Tottenham, but they remain the only Premier League side without a win in 2026.
The one crumb of comfort for Spurs was defeat for relegation rivals Nottingham Forest, 2-1 at Brighton.
All three goals arrived in the first 15 minutes as Diego Gomez and Danny Welbeck netted for the Seagulls either side of Morgan Gibbs-White’s reply.
Forest sit two points above the drop zone ahead of a daunting trip to Manchester City on Wednesday.
