Styria MotoGP: Oliveira makes last-turn pass to win thriller
Miguel Oliveira took a shock maiden MotoGP victory in a red-flagged Styrian Grand Prix after Jack Miller and Pol Espargaro ran wide at the final turn.
Suzuki’s Joan Mir grabbed the holeshot for the first start, though had to relinquish his lead to Pramac’s Jack Miller for running off at Turn 1 and gaining an advantage.
Mir was then demoted by Takaaki Nakagami on lap four, though the Suzuki soon rallied and by the end of the tour was once again in the lead.
He was able to open up a lead of over two seconds by the end of lap 16 before the red flag brought the race to a halt after Maverick Vinales suffered a scary crash at Turn 1.
Having seemingly been battling brake issues all race, Vinales was forced to jump off his Yamaha at 130mph when it wouldn’t slow, with the bike bursting into flames as it hit the air fence.
Restarted over 12 laps, Mir took the lead again from Miller off the line, though the Ducati moved ahead into Turn 4.
The Pramac rider fitted fresh softs to the front and rear of his bike, while Mir had to suffer with a medium front that had already done 18 laps.
Mir could do nothing to fend of the riders behind coming through, with Espargaro on the KTM and Oliveira moving through to chase down Miller by lap six.
Espargaro, who was struggling to run the pace of the leaders before the red flag, blasted past Miller at the final corner on lap seven having made a failed attempt at Turn 1 the lap before.
The factory KTM rider ran a defensive line into Turn 3 on the final tour, which allowed Miller to get the run on him down into Turn 4.
Espargaro tried to respond on the inside of Turn 5, but the Ducati rider held the position, with Oliveira in third poised to take profit of any drama ahead.
At the penultimate corner, Espargaro launched a raid on Miller, but ran slightly wide and allowed the Pramac rider to draw alongside into the final turn.
Miller muscled through and parked his bike on the exit, forcing Espargaro wide.
But this allowed Oliveira to come through to score his maiden MotoGP victory in the 900th premier class race and the first in the premier class for Tech 3.
Miller held Espargaro at bay for second, with Mir fourth at the chequered flag ahead of Andrea Dovizioso – the Ducati rider dropping out of podium contention after running wide on the last lap.
Alex Rins was sixth on the Suzuki, while Nakagami’s podium hopes faded in the second race and he was seventh in the end, with Brad Binder (KTM), Valentino Rossi on the Yamaha and Tech 3’s Iker Lecuona completing the top 10.
Danilo Petrucci grabbed 11th on the works team Ducati head of Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, while a struggling Fabio Quartararo on the Petronas Yamaha maintains a slender three-point lead over Dovizioso after finishing 13th.
Johann Zarco came from the pitlane in the first race to score two points with 14th on the Avintia Ducati, with Franco Morbidelli completing the top 15 on the SRT Yamaha.
Styria MotoGP: Race results:
| Cla | Rider | Bike | Time | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Miguel Oliveira |  | KTM | |
| 2 |  Jack Miller |  | Ducati | 0.316 |
| 3 |  Pol Espargaro |  | KTM | 0.540 |
| 4 | Joan Mir |  | Suzuki | 0.641 |
| 5 |  Andrea Dovizioso |  | Ducati | 1.414 |
| 6 | Alex Rins |  | Suzuki | 1.450 |
| 7 |  Takaaki Nakagami |  | Honda | 1.864 |
| 8 |  Brad Binder |  | KTM | 4.150 |
| 9 | Valentino Rossi |  | Yamaha | 4.517 |
| 10 | Iker Lecuona |  | KTM | 5.068 |
| 11 | Danilo Petrucci |  | Ducati | 5.918 |
| 12 | Aleix Espargaro |  | Aprilia | 6.411 |
| 13 |  Fabio Quartararo |  | Yamaha | 7.406 |
| 14 | Johann Zarco |  | Ducati | 7.454 |
| 15 | Franco Morbidelli |  | Yamaha | 10.191 |
| 16 | Alex Marquez |  | Honda | 10.524 |
| 17 |  Cal Crutchlow |  | Honda | 11.447 |
| 18 |  Stefan Bradl |  | Honda | 11.943 |
| 19 | Bradley Smith |  | Aprilia | 12.732 |
| 20 | Michele Pirro | | Ducati | 14.349 |
| 21 | Tito Rabat |  | Ducati | 14.548 |
| Maverick Viñales |  | Yamaha | ||
| View full results | ||||
Espargaro: Austria win was "more achievable" last week
Vinales explains dramatic brake 'explosion' in Styria MotoGP
Why Ducati holds all the power in its MotoGP rider dilemma
OPINION: The French Grand Prix looks to have made Ducati’s decision on its factory team line-up simpler, as Enea Bastianini stormed to his third win of the campaign and Jorge Martin crashed out for a fifth time in 2022. But, as Ducati suggests to Motorsport.com, it remains in the strongest position in a wild rider market
The seismic aftershock of Suzuki's decision to leave MotoGP
Suzuki's sudden decision to leave the MotoGP World Championship at the end of the season has acted as a stirring element in a market that had already erupted. We analyse what this means for the grid going into 2023
How the real Ducati began to emerge in MotoGP's Spanish GP
Ducati’s 2022 MotoGP bike has had a tough start to life and the expected early-season title charge from Francesco Bagnaia did not materialise. But the Spanish Grand Prix signalled a turning point for both the GP22 and Bagnaia, as the 2021 runner-up belatedly got his season underway after a straight fight with Fabio Quartararo
How praise for Honda's MotoGP bike has given way to doubt
In a little over two months, Honda has gone from setting the pace in MotoGP testing with its new RC213V prototype to being at a crossroads - caused by the discrepancy in its riders' feedback. After a Portuguese GP that underwhelmed, serious questions are now being asked of Honda in 2022
Why Quartararo's win was vital not only for his title hopes
Fabio Quartararo got his MotoGP title defence off the ground in the Portuguese Grand Prix as a dominant first win of 2022 rocketed him to the top of the standings. While a significant result in terms of his title hopes, it has come at an even more important time in terms of his 2023 contract negotiations
The MotoGP rookie fighting two fronts in his debut year
Darryn Binder has found himself in the unenviable position as MotoGP's most under-pressure rookie in 2022 having made the step directly from Moto3 with a reputation as an over-aggressive rider. This hasn't been an easy thing to shake at the start of the season, but he believes tangible progress is being made
How ‘Beast’ mode is putting Ducati in 2022 MotoGP title contention
Enea Bastianini’s second win of the 2022 campaign at COTA puts him back in the lead of the standings and once again showed the best Ducati package is still the 2021 bike. Those closest to Bastianini tell Motorsport.com why he’s so good on the GP21 relative to his factory counterparts.
How Espargaro helped Aprilia shed MotoGP's underdog tag
Aleix Espargaro became MotoGP's newest winner in a thrilling Argentina Grand Prix in which he also proved the merits of the Aprilia project. After six years of hard graft, both parties have reaped the rewards they have long thought they deserved. But it was several key moments in that journey that led both to that momentous Sunday at Termas de Rio Hondo.