Spain’s Alex Rins has won a dramatic Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix after local favorite Jack Miller crashed out on lap eight.
Rins pinched the lead from Italian star Francesco Bagnaia on the final lap to win a classic race at Phillip Island.
The 26-year-old finished ahead of his resurgent countryman, the legendary six-time world champion Marc Marquez, with Bagnaia in third for the fourth win of his career.
Bagnaia will be left disappointed not to have won a race he led the majority of but the result will still prove crucial towards his world championship hopes.
The Italian headed to the first Australian GP since 2019 trailing defending world champion Fabio Quartararo by two points in this year’s title race.
However, the 25-year-old will leave the Victorian track with a handy buffer, putting him in the box-seat to claim his first MotoGP title after Quartararo was forced to retire.
Quartararo made a big mistake early in the race, running wide into the sand on lap-three at the newly named Miller Corner.
His race ended for good on lap 10 as he came off the track in a disastrous outcome for his title aspirations.
In a major blow for Australian fans, Miller was taken out of the race by Spaniard Alex Marquez on lap eight.
The star Australian was a chance to claim his maiden MotoGP win at the island as he rode in fifth place but Marquez crashed into him from behind.
The luckless 27-year-old came flying off his Ducati, immediately ending his race, with Marquez also being forced to retire.
It not only ended Miller’s Australian GP hopes but also his slim chance of winning this year’s world championship, with two races remaining in the season.
Meanwhile, Spain’s Alonso Lopez claimed a dramatic Moto2 race that ended with several riders requiring medical attention after crashing out.
Jorge Navarro lay injured on the side of the track for the duration of two laps after being struck by Italian Simone Corsi.
The race continued despite calls for it to be red-flagged.
Officials said Corsi and Navarro were taken to the medical center for assessment.
In Moto3, Spanish young gun Izan Guevara secured the championship with a brilliant victory in the first race of the day.
The 18-year-old will take an unassailable advantage into the final two rounds of the season after beating out Turkey’s Deniz Oncu in the lightweight class.