1. Jorge Lorenzo (MotoGP)
Although the weekend will forever be overshadowed for many by the tyre controversy, Phillip Island saw Jorge Lorenzo at his brilliant best. The signs were there right from free practice with the Yamaha rider dominating proceedings while Marc Marquez made mistakes, crashing in two of the three sessions before qualifying.
Not even an unexpected passenger in the form of a seagull could stop Jorge taking pole position, the Yamaha leader smashing the lap record along the way, but there was still plenty of work to do on race day. As Marquez and Repsol Honda proved, the flag-to-flag format lends itself to silly mistakes but Jorge made none and his ruthless move on the 20 year old when he rejoined from his late bike change showed just how badly Lorenzo wants to retain his title. As Marc attempted to blend his way onto the racing, Jorge placed his bike right in the way and barged past the rookie in a harsh but fair move, perhaps exacting a measure of revenge for their confrontation at Jerez.
When the weekend started, the odds were in favour of Marquez being crowned the new king of MotoGP but Lorenzo’s brilliance at Phillip Island has blown the race wide open again and a final day decider on Spanish soil isn’t out of the question any more.
(Photo Credit: MotoGP.com)
