CycleOnline.com.au highlights three standout performances from Phillip Island’s 16th round of the 2016 MotoGP World Championship. Radar isn’t intended to be strictly about the winners, it’s about the unsung racers that we spot performing above expectations on any given race weekend.

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Pol Espargaro (Monster Yamaha Tech3) – fifth:
Pol Espargaro added another top five finish to his 2016 MotoGP campaign at Phillip Island, beating home defending champion Jorge Lorenzo (Movistar Yamaha) by a comfortable margin. The Spaniard excelled in the wet conditions throughout qualifying, recording the third-fastest laptime to position himself on the front row of the grid. Despite the weather clearing up on race day, Espargaro was able to maintain his impressive form to finish in fifth.

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Scott Redding (Pramac Racing Ducati) – seventh:
After finishing 11th at the Australian grand prix in 2015, Scott Redding’s seventh place result at the 2016 edition was a welcoming improvement for the British rider. Starting 11th on the grid, Redding dropped two positions in the opening laps before regrouping and making several valuable passes to put him inside the top 10. Once he was in there, he traded positions with Australian Jack Miller (Team Estrella Galicia 0,0 Marc VDS Honda), Repsol Honda stand-in Nicky Hayden and teammate Danilo Petrucci (Pramac Ducati) on several occasions, although he was able to solidify his position in seventh with five laps remaining.

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Bradley Smith (Monster Yamaha Tech3) – eighth:
The Australian grand prix marked Bradley Smith’s second race since returning from a painful leg injury, which sidelined him for several weeks. Qualifying well outside of the top 10 in 14th position, the Yamaha-mounted rider struggled in the opening laps as he dropped to 16th, however in the dying stages of the race he was able to climb a further eight positions to be awarded eighth, just a fraction off seventh place holder Scott Redding. It was a strong finish after what was a spectacular battle for position in the back-half of the top 10.