At the Australian GP, the next-to-last race of this year’s season, the champagne was flowing for two teams sponsored by the Akrapovič factory. Marc Márquez became champion for the first time in the Moto2 class, and Jorge Lorenzo is champion in the Moto GP class for the second time in his career.

Another race weekend and another tallying up of the world champions that have reached their goal with the help of Akrapovič exhaust systems. After Sandro Cortese became champion the previous weekend in Malaysia in the lowest cylinder class, Moto 3, we received two new world champions after the round Down Under at the beachfront Phillip Island Circuit.

In the MotoGP class, this was the second career victory for Jorge Lorenzo, a member of the Yamaha Factory Racing team. Even though it looked like the battle against fast-paced competitor Dani Pedrosa would last all the way to the final race in Valencia, Pedrosa lost his advantage with a fall in lap twenty-six and all that second-ranked Jorge had to do was make it across the finish line.

After the race, the new world champion was ecstatic: “What a day! I’m very happy, it was easier than I expected because Dani made a mistake in a corner and crashed. I wanted to keep with Casey, but he was so strong. Today all I had to do was finish the race and I’ve become world champion for the second time. It’s such a sweet feeling! I want to thank all the team, Yamaha, my family, my friends, sponsors, and fans who support me. Today’s an amazing moment. We’ve been very patient, very concentrated, and finally the world title arrives!”

In the Moto2 class, Marc Márquez was able to relax a bit more in this race than Jorge because he only needed to collect two points in the last two races to claim the world championship title. He crossed the finish line in Australia in third place, behind Pol Espargaró and Anthony West, in order to stand one step higher on the podium than his second-place finish in last year’s Moto2 class.

After the race, Márquez commented: “It’s an incredible feeling, a dream. When you cross the finish line it’s a great moment, but it happens very fast. The best bit comes with the celebration with the team. It’s very satisfying to win the title. At this time I remember the hard times this year, the injuries, the support of my family and team. I can’t help but get emotional. It was a very difficult title victory, because Pol [Espargaró] didn’t make it at all easy for me and he deserves my congratulations for the great season he’s had. After the serious injury I suffered a year ago, which could have taken me away from racing forever, the most important thing is that I was able to get back riding. This season the team formed a magnificent group. I’ve never felt so comfortable in a team before. We’ve got full confidence in one another.”

The champion in the Moto3 class has been known since the race in Malaysia, but Sandro Cortese (KTM) won once again to prove that he deserves the title. Miguel Oliveira crossed the finish line two seconds behind him, and third place was taken by Cortese’s teammate Arthur Sissis. All three ride bikes outfitted with an Akrapovič exhaust system.

Lorenzo, Márquez, and Cortese, and members of the winning teams—sincere congratulations and thanks for a perfect season, which will definitely hold a special place in the history of the Akrapovič factory. Together with the last two titles, this gives us a full thirteen world championship titles in 2012!

Photo: Yamaha Racing, Micro Lazzari, Gold and Goose