Some finishes at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria that have seen the lead change hands on the last corner of the last lap - see Michael Schumacher over Rubens Barrichello in the 2002 Austrian Grand Prix - are memorable for all the wrong reasons.
Others, such as today’s MotoGP Austrian Grand Prix, are memorable for all the right ones. Today it was Ducati’s Andrea Dovizioso who wrote a spellbinding final chapter to an otherwise scintillating race, holding off a last-lap, last-turn gasp from Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez to secure the victory.
The two exchanged positions quite a number of times throughout the race but it was Dovizioso who held on by just 0.176 of a second for the win, his third of the season, after a gripping fight.
You can see the final corner of the race in a slo-mo video linked here.
Dani Pedrosa took third in the second of the Repsol Hondas, a few seconds in arrears.
Marquez now leads Dovizioso by 16 points, 174-158, after this result in the championship battle. Marquez won last week at Brno in the Czech Republic but today’s result sees Dovizioso regain some of the points lost there.
The series’ next race is at Silverstone in two weeks’ time.