[VIDEO] 2014 Australian MotoGP highlights: Phillip Island coverage, blog

RACE RESULTS:

Moto GP – Valentino Rossi wins an action packed race in the Moto GP.

Marc Marquez led early but crashed at Lukey Heights.

He wasn’t the only one as many riders crashed out with front tyre problems.

Jorge Lorenzo finished in second with Bradley Smith in third.

Moto 3 – Jack Miller wins the race, by 0.029 seconds, to close the gap to Alex Marquez in the championship.

The Aussie is now only 20 points behind Marquez with two rounds to go.

Moto 2 – Maverick Vinales spoils the party for Esteve Rabat by taking out the Moto 2 race.

Rabat finishes in third and extends the lead in the championship to 41 points.

He should wrap up the championship next week in Malaysia.

RACE PREVIEW:

All eyes will be on the Australian riders as they try to shine at Phillip Island in the Australian MotoGP today. Join The Roar for a live blog of the Moto 3, Moto 2, and the Moto GP races from Phillip Island at 12:30pm AEDT.

Seven Australians will be in action today with three in Moto 3, three in Moto 2, and one in the Moto GP.

Most of the focus will be on Jack Miller, who is fighting for the Moto 3 championship.

Things didn’t go his way yesterday with the Australian 8th in qualifying after dealing with traffic issues at critical times in the session.

It didn’t help that his rival, Alex Marquez, secured pole position for the race with a 1:36.050.
Heading into the race Marquez leads by 25 points ahead of Miller.

Miller must beat Marquez today to close the gap in the championship and remain alive in the title fight.

If Marquez beats Miller, and gains a significant points haul compared to the Australian, it could be all over for the Townsville youngster.

Buoyed on by a home crowd, everyone, including Miller, will hope that doesn’t happen today. Despite the lower grid position than Marquez, Miller will be confident of a good showing today.

His focus this weekend has been about the race and having good pace on Sunday. As long as he gets a good start then Miller will be in contention today.

But Miller isn’t the only Australian in the Moto 3 race today.

Remy Gardner, the son of 1987 motorcycle world champion Wayne Gardner, is also racing today with fellow Australian Olly Simpson.

Today will be Gardner’s second appearance in a Moto 3 race after debuting in San Marino. He qualified 24th and was only 1.4 seconds behind the leaders.

Olly Simpson, who is making his debut, qualified in 33rd position in his KTM.

In the Moto 2 championship, it could be decided today, if Esteve Rabat beats his team-mate – Mika Kallio – by enough points today.

Rabat has been dominant this weekend and took pole position in a lap record for the Moto 2 category.

His team-mate will start from third position, and if he stays in that position, Kallio will keep the championship alive for one more round.

For Rabat to win the championship he needs one of the following scenarios to happen: If Rabat wins the race, he needs Kallio to finish in 4th to win the title; if Rabat finishes in 2nd or 3rd, he needs Kallio to finish in either 8th or 12th respectively to win the title; a 4th place finish by Rabat would require Kallio to finish in 15th or lower to win the title.

It could be an interesting day for Kallio and Rabat as they fight for the championship.

There are three Aussies in the Moto 2 race to look out for as well. Ant West, who has raced all season in the Moto 2, leads the Australian charge.

He has qualified 25th for the race but is much faster than that. Watch out for the Queenslander today, he can certainly produce a good result at Phillip Island.

He finished in the top 10 last year, and was on the podium in 2012, before it was stripped away from him after he tested positive to methylhexanamine in 2013.

The other two Aussies in the race are Aiden Wagner and Max Croker. Wagner qualified in 31st position with Croker in 33rd.

Both will be riding for experience and will be looking to finish the race in a respectable position.

The final race of the day, the Moto GP, looks to be a battle between Marc Marquez and Jorge Lorenzo.

Despite wrapping up the championship last weekend in Motegi, Marquez showed his intention to win this weekend by grabbing pole for the race.

He will be joined on the front row by Cal Crutchlow in his Ducati, and Jorge Lorenzo in his Yamaha.

Crutchlow surprised everyone by taking his first front row start for the year in a bike that has struggled in qualifying.

For Lorenzo, he will be focussed on the race, with the Spaniard looking strong on the hard compound tyre which will be used today.

Marquez will also be strong and it looks to be a battle between the Spaniards for the victory.

Others to look out for include Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa, and Bradley Smith.

Smith – who qualified in 4th position – finished 6th last year in Australia for his best result of that year. He could be strong today.

The Moto GP race also contains an Australian with Broc Parkes competing for Paul Bird Racing this weekend.

The Australian will start in 22nd for the race and will be looking to make the points in front of his home crowd.

It promises to be a big day of racing at the Island. It could also be a day where a new champion is crowned.

Join The Roar from 12:30pm (AEDT) as we cover the day’s racing at Phillip Island.