Dovizioso stuns Marquez to defend Ducati’s Austrian MotoGP record

Full Austrian MotoGP race results

Andrea Dovizioso produces a stunning last-corner overtake to beat Marc Marquez and maintain Ducati’s perfect winning record at the Austrian MotoGP.

The Ducati rider bolted clear with his MotoGP world title rival at the front after Fabio Quartararo led the early laps while the pair were tussling for position on the opening lap.

Having sized up the Repsol Honda rider, Dovizioso began his charge with eight laps to go, overtaking into Turn 1 using the power of the GP19, which pushed the initiative on to Marquez in the closing stages.

The reigning MotoGP world champion made his bid for victory with two laps to go at the Red Bull Ring, the only circuit he is yet to win at on the current race calendar, diving smartly up the inside around Turn 7 before defending his position at Turn 9.

Dovizioso refused to admit defeat as he closed the deficit on the final lap before lining up and all-or-nothing overtake at the final corner reminiscent of Marquez’s own move on the Italian two years ago.

But unlike Marquez’s failed effort, Dovizioso pulled off the perfect block pass up the inside before using the superior acceleration of his Ducati to take an emotional victory – his second win at the Red Bull Ring.

It also sees Ducati maintain its perfect record in Austria – winning every MotoGP race since the circuit returned to the calendar in 2016 – with Marquez having to settle for a runner-up result for a third consecutive year.

Behind the battle for victory, Fabio Quartararo cemented his own credentials in his rookie MotoGP campaign by taking an impressive third place on the Petronas Yamaha having kept clear of the factory Yamaha pair throughout the race.

Valentino Rossi ended up defending from both Monster Yamaha team-mate Maverick Vinales and Suzuki’s Alex Rins over the closing laps to take fourth place, but three M1s inside the top five marks a solid return to form for the Japanese manufacturer.

Francesco Bagnaia claimed the best result of his maiden MotoGP campaign in seventh place for Pramac Ducati, having seen team-mate Jack Miller crash out from fourth place on Lap 8, with Miguel Oliveira also notching up his strongest performance to date with eighth place for Tech3 KTM.

Danilo Petrucci’s poor run of form continued down in ninth place for the factory Ducati squad as Franco Morbidelli rounded out the top 10 for Petronas Yamaha.

Takaaki Nakagami suffered a late race fade to drop to 11^th place for LCR Honda but kept ahead of Red Bull KTM’s Johann Zarco and Stefan Bradl who stood in for the injured Jorge Lorenzo at Repsol Honda.

Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro and Avintia Ducati’s Karel Abraham completed the points places in Austria after Andrea Iannone dropped off the pace late on.

Tito Rabat crashed out late on for Avintia Ducati, joining Miller, Cal Crutchlow, Pol Espargaro and Hafizh Syahrin as non-finishers.