Frenchman Johann Zarco claimed his first MotoGP victory with a thrilling last-lap steal of the Australian motorcycle Grand Prix.
His Pramac Racing teammate Jorge Martin led the 27-lap race from pole after comfortably being the fastest driver at Phillip Island all weekend.
But Martin’s tires gradually wore down as his rivals chipped away at his lead of almost four seconds with three laps remaining.
Zarco tried to protect Martin from the rest of the field, but had no choice but to pass his teammate halfway through the final lap.
The 33-year-old held off challenges from reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia and little-known Italian Fabio Di Giannantonio to claim a famous victory.
Martin arrived in Australia second in the championship standings, 18 points behind Bagnaia, but is now 25 points behind after looking set to close the gap to around six points when leading.
In qualifying, Martin broke the Phillip Island record, setting a scorching lap of 1:27.246.
Australian hero Jack Miller rose to third place during a torrid first lap, but was quickly overtaken and quickly dropped to sixth.
Miller was unable to make up enough ground and finished seventh.
Alex Rins scored a memorable victory at Phillip Island last year, but was forced to withdraw from the event due to persistent leg pain following a fall earlier in the season.
Rins raced in Indonesia last Sunday, finishing ninth, but his ongoing problems worsened after taking part in testing at Phillip Island on Friday.
The 27-year-old traveled to Melbourne for tests to determine where the pain was coming from.
PAA
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