(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Andrea Dovizioso held off the hard-charging Marc Marquez to win a thrilling Austrian MotoGP Grand Prix for Ducati yesterday. World championship leader Marquez had started on pole but Italian Dovizioso got the better of an incredible battle where the lead changed hands several times, including twice on the final corner.
Three-time world champion Marquez's Honda teammate and compatriot Dani Pedrosa came third. Dovizioso's third win of the season moved him up to second behind Marquez in the standings, 16 points back, as Spaniard Maverick Vinales dropped to third after finishing only sixth.
That was one place above his Yamaha teammate and seven-time world champion Valentino Rossi of Italy. "I heard Marc's engine the corner before the last, he opened the gas before me, and I knew he wanted to try," said Dovizioso who saw Marquez slip past him on the final bend before the Spaniard ran wide and allowed the Ducati man to take back the lead.
"So I left the door open because if I didn't he would have hit me and could have won. He was good stopping the bike and trying to exit, but I was faster."
Dovizioso had started second on the grid but dropped to third as his Ducati teammate and three-time world champion Jorge Lorenzo jumped from third to first at the start. Dovizioso, who was second in Austria to his then team-mate Andrea Iannone last year, took advantage of the battle between Marquez and Lorenzo to snatch the lead.
Marquez also passed Lorenzo to launch a thrilling battle with Dovizioso. The Spaniard seemed to have an edge in speed but every time he passed the Italian, usually after a daring and almost reckless lunge into a turn, his ice-cool rival quickly took back the lead. Their battle allowed Pedrosa to close right in around six laps from the end but he couldn't challenge for the victory and Dovizioso prevailed.
Italy's Franco Morbidelli earned his seventh win of the season with victory in Moto2. World championship leader Morbidelli beat fellow Kalex riders Alex Marquez of Spain and Switzerland's Thomas Luthi into second and third respectively at the Spielberg circuit.
In Moto3, Spain's world championship leader Joan Mir won ahead of German Philipp Oettl and compatriot Jorge Martin. It was a stunning seventh GP success of the season for Honda's Mir, who had started from the fourth row of the grid at the Spielberg circuit.
Results and standings
MotoGP: 1. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) 39min 43.323sec, 2. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) at 0.176sec, 3. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 2.661, 4. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Ducati) 6.663, 5. Johann Zarco (FRA/Yamaha) 7.262, 6. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Yahaha) 7.447, 7. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yahama) 8.995, 8. Alvaro Bautista (ESP/Aspar) 14.515, 9. Loris Baz (FRA/Avintia) 19.620 10. Mika Kallio (FIN/KTM) 19.766
Overall standings: 1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 174, 2. Andrea Dovizioso (ITA/Ducati) 158, 3. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Yamaha) 150, 4. Valentino Rossi (ITA/Yamaha) 141, 5. Dani Pedrosa (ESP/Honda) 139, 6. Johann Zarco (FRA/Yamaha Tech3) 99, 7. Jorge Lorenzo (ESP/Ducati) 79, 8. Jonas Folger (GER/ Yahama Tech3) 77, 9. Cal Crutchlow (GBR/LCR Honda) 76, 10. Danilo Petrucci (ITA/Ducati Pramac) 75,
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