Aus GP: Marquez claims 100th podium finish

Phillip Island (Australia), Oct 16 After 357 days from last trip to the podium, Marc Marquez became just the fourth rider in history to achieve 100 premier class podiums after finishing second at the Australian Grand Prix while Pol Espargaro fought for the top ten.
The eight-time World Champion becomes just the fourth rider to achieve 100 podium finishes in the premier class, joining Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo and Dani Pedrosa in an exclusive club.
From 152 MotoGP starts, Marquez has achieved 59 wins and has finished in the top three in 65% of his premier class races. The second-place finish also moves him level with Spanish legend Angel Nieto, the pair sharing 139 podiums across all Grand Prix classes.
Marquez lined up in the centre of the front row of the grid for the 27 lap race. With clear track ahead of him, he charged off the line to tuck in just behind pole-sitter Jorge Martin for the opening half of the race as they avoided the frantic battle behind.
As the laps went by, the competition grew closer and it was soon a seven-way battle for the victory. It would only be decided in the closing laps, Marquez saving his soft rear for an all-out assault at the end.
Pushing until the line, for the 31st time in his MotoGP career the eight-time World Champion took second place and earned his 100th premier class podium in the process. Marquez narrowly missed out on a return to the top step of the podium 0.186s behind Rins.
After 357 days of his last podium, achieved at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix in 2021, Marquez has once again taken to the rostrum.
After incredible efforts to return to fitness after a fourth surgery on his injured right arm, the podium shows the great progress that Marquez is making in his ongoing recovery.
“It was a great race today; I really enjoyed the battle a lot and the feeling of returning to the podium is fantastic. It has been a long journey and we have reached the next stage. The soft rear was certainly the correct option for us in the race, I felt quite good, and I was able to fight until the end,” Marquez said.
“At the start I was managing the situation a little bit, but I really enjoyed the race, I tried to win! Alex Rins did really well in the last few laps. I left everything out on track today and I really enjoyed all the overtakes, especially at Turn 2 because the bike was working really well there. We are coming better but there is still work to do. It’s great to achieve this milestone of 100 premier class podiums and an honour to draw equal with Nieto but we are not done yet.”
Besides, Pol Espargaro made an aggressive start to the race as he tried to hustle his way into the top ten. He quickly found himself battling with several other riders which saw him stuck in 14th place for the opening half of the race.
Sticking to the plan and conserving his tyres, Espargaro began to make steady progress in the final 13 laps as he worked his way forward to 11th at the line.
Now, the Repsol Honda Team head for the penultimate race of the year at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia. From the cold and wind of Phillip Island, it looks set to be a classic weekend in Malaysia with scorching temperatures and high humidity. The work continues right until the end.