PHILIP ISLAND (Australia): Cal Crutchlow held off an extraordinary ride from Valentino Rossi at Phillip Island to claim his second career MotoGP victory and become the first British winner of the Australian Grand Prix on Sunday as newly-crowned world champion Marc Marquez crashed out with 18 laps to go.

The 30-year-old, whose victory at Brno in August was the first in the premier class of grand prix racing for a British rider in 35 years, took full advantage after Marquez, who clinched his third world title last weekend in Japan, crashed out on lap 10 while holding a big lead.

The LCR Honda rider held his nerve despite being chased by the hard-charging six-time world champion Rossi — who climbed through the field from 15th place on the grid after his worst qualifying performance in five years — and crossed the line in 40 minutes, 48.543 seconds.

Italian Rossi finished 4.218 seconds behind in 40:52.761, with Spain’s Maverick Vinales third on a Suzuki Ecstar.

Rossi’s second place helped him open up a 24-point gap on Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo, who was sixth, in the race for second spot on overall championship standings with two rounds remaining.

Riders head to Malaysia for the penultimate round of the season next weekend.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2016