Nightmare start, dream end: the #93 charges through and gets the gloves off to beat Martin, with Bagnaia doing some damage limitation in third .

Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) went toe-to-toe at the Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, escaping to create a private showdown at front and duelling through the final four laps – split by less than a second over the line. Marquez came out on top despite dropping back after a nightmare start, with the #93 stalking the #89 through the latter stages before making his attack and making it stick. In the title fight, Martin’s second place nevertheless sees him increase his lead by four points, with key rival and reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) completing the podium at a distance on Sunday.

The drama was immediate as Marquez’ rear wheel spun up a cloud of smoke off the line, a tear off trapped under the rear tyre which was then unceremoniously ejected as he dropped the clutch. That allowed the Gresini machine to quickly take off and slot back into the fight, but the kerfuffle – and a great start from the #89 – saw Martin streak away to take the holeshot ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), with Bagnaia up into third early on as he threaded the needle past Marquez’ drama. Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) was in P4, with another stunning launch from Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) putting the South African into fifth from P11 on the grid.

Behind, in no time at all Marquez was somehow already attacking Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) to move back into sixth, and after a tango at Turn 4 the #93 made it through. From there, he was on a mission. Next was Binder, and the gap to the South African was gone in a couple of laps. Then it was Morbidelli and with 22 to go into Turn 1, Marquez was through and into the podium places. Now, the clear air to his 2025 teammate was the target as the #1 continued to hold race leader Martin within around half a second.

By 16 to go, a small mistake from the Championship leader made it a six-wheeler at the front, the three machines glued together: Martin, Bagnaia and Marquez. Bagnaia wasted no time as he attacked at Turn 3 and made it through, but Martin hit back at Turn 4. That opened the door enough for Marquez to head through too, resetting it to Martin – Marquez – Bagnaia in that order at the front.

With 13 to go, the #1 and the #93 set identical laps, and less than a tenth off race leader Martin. With all on the soft tyre and plenty of kilometers to go, the chess game seemed out in full force but the Jaws music was starting to fade in from Marquez. Next time round, he was right on the back of the Pramac ahead. 10 laps to go, two tenths between two riders, and one second back to the reigning Champion. Then 1.9. It was becoming a duel Down Under, and the tension simmered away lap by lap before a final four to remember.

Four to go, Martin left the door just enough ajar at Turn 4 and there was no second invitation needed as Marquez sliced past. Into Turn 1 with three to go, Martin returned the favour. At Turn 4, Marquez did the same once more, and sent both just wide enough for the gloves to now clearly be off. No contact, and they just about stayed on track away from the green, but it was a lunge. If it was designed to create some metres of clear air in the lead it didn’t quite work as they stayed stuck together split by 0.111 over the line, but the #93 was now hammer down.

This time at Turn 1, there was no gap. Martin tried to make one at Turn 2 but no dice, and around three Marquez started to make some metres. By the start of the final lap, the #93 was half a second clear, and gaining himself just enough breathing space to call that a third win of the year.

Bagnaia couldn’t quite find enough to go with the duo in the lead once they’d broken away, but kept it tidy in third for a very valuable 16-point haul, keeping the deficit at 20 points with a maximum of 111 still to race for.

In the fight behind the podium, Bastianini dropped back before picking his way forward again, with Binder, Morbidelli, Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) for company in a tight fight. By the flag though it was two duels. Diggia took fourth from Bastianini by three tenths, and behind them it was a near photo-finish for sixth as Morbidelli and Binder crossed the line split by just 0.016. Viñales was forced to settle for eighth.

Another group fought it out behind that one, with Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) rising to the fore there. The Frenchman stormed up from P18 on the grid to take ninth and another top ten, denying Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing), home hero Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Energy MotoGP™). Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team) had another solid day to take more points in P14, with Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) taking the final point after the #73 had headed well wide at Turn 1 and served his Long Lap for his collision with Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) in Japan.

Mir slid out on Sunday, and Bezzecchi crashed early after completing his Long Lap for his incident with Viñales in the Tissot Sprint. He remounted but at the back of the pack. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) didn’t start after being declared unfit on Sunday morning due to shoulder trauma incurred on Saturday.

After the drama, the weather, the well-calculated lunges and high-speed chess, that’s a wrap on Phillip Island. The Championship top two are now split by 20 points, with Marquez still just about hanging on as a contender for the crown and Bastianini now at a real last chance saloon in Buriram. Join us for the PT Grand Prix of Thailand next weekend for another two showdowns in front of a wall of noise from that main grandstand… and a final corner designed to make them roar!

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The #89 extends his lead with a stunner, the #93 and #23 charge through as Bagnaia is forced to settle for fourth.

Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) has extended his title advantage at the Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix after a stunning Tissot Sprint performance. The #89 started from pole and set a relentless pace, crossing the line clear of Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), who recovered to second after a tough start. Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) claimed the final spot on the Tissot Sprint podium after a fantastic ride from 10th on the grid. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) took fourth and now has a 16-point deficit to Martin in the Championship.

Martin claiming the perfect launch from pole, storming into the lead on the run to Turn 1. The #89 was leading with Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Bagnaia in chase after the reigning World Champion secured a fantastic launch from P5 on the grid, too.

It was a tough start to the Sprint for Marc Marquez, dropping to eighth after the #93 ran wide at Turn 1. However, the eight-time World Champion began to claw back time, carving past Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), picking off Bastianini and a fast-starting Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) for P4.

Martin put the hammer down early, stretching a one-second lead to Bezzecchi, who was now coming under under immense pressure from Bagnaia. The #1 made the move stick on Lap 4, slicing up into second while Bezzecchi was soon under pressure from the hard-charging Marc Marquez.

Positions continued to change, with Bezzecchi demoted to fourth as Marc Marquez moved up to set his sights on Bagnaia. The gap reduced through every sector before the #93 pounced on Lap 8. After that, Bagnaia was unable to match the pace and soon dropped to fourth, with Bastianini finding a gap in his teammate’s armour and muscling his way past too.

Meanwhile, Bezzecchi and Viñales continued an intense battle for fifth, with the #12 overtaking the Italian at the start of Lap 12. However, everything came undone at Turn 1 as Bezzecchi and Viñales collided into the braking area, both riders sliding off into the gravel in a plume of dust. Viñales was passed fit and Bezzecchi had no fractures, but the Italian is undergoing a full check in Melbourne. When he returns, a hearing will be held as the incident remains under investigation.

In a very different crash but another bout of drama, Binder’s hopes of points were then also lost moments later as the South African lost the front at Turn 4.

Back at the front though, nobody could match Martin’s pace in the closing stages of the Sprint. The #89 crossed the line with a 1.520s advantage over the charging Marc Marquez, who crossed the line in second and crucially ahead of Bastianini as the battle for third in the Championship continues. They also both just stay in contention, mathematically.

Bagnaia crossed the line in fourth spot with some pace still to find for Sunday after losing further points to title rival Martin. Meanwhile, Morbidelli secured a positive fifth place finish, crossing the line ahead of a best Sprint result for Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing), who capped off a confidence-boosting Saturday after bagging sixth ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team). The #49 was demoted to seventh after receiving an eight-second time penalty due to running tyre pressures lower than the advised parameters.

Further back, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) was eighth in a strong result for the #41 as the final point of the day went the way of Augusto Fernandez, who finished as the sole Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 rider after rookie teammate Pedro Acosta suffered a highside, rider ok but to be reviewed ahead of the race. Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team) just missed out on a point but continues his best weekend yet for Honda.

Drama sadly struck for Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), crashing on Lap 8 to the disappointment of the Australian crowd, and Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) also slid out of the Sprint, riders ok.

After an intense Saturday, the action is still not over in Phillip Island, and the weather should get a little better. So make sure you join us for the Australian GP on Sunday at 14:00 local time (UTC +11) as Bagnaia sets his sights on redemption and Martin eyes a near-perfect weekend. Was he playing with them as Bagnaia claimed, or is the #89’s prediction of a showdown with Marquez set to prove correct?

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Only two riders get within a second of the #89 as a drying Phillip Island throws up some surprise results on Saturday morning – setting us up for two exciting showdowns.

As qualifying laps go, that was about as good as it gets from Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). In drying, tricky conditions at Phillip Island, the World Championship leader slung a phenomenal 1:27.296 on the board to claim pole position at the Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix by a hefty 0.594s. That’s his third pole on the spin Down Under. Not even the might of Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) could get within half a second of his compatriot, and third place Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) acted as the only other rider to set a time that was under a second away. A dominant Saturday morning display on the Island.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) had to settle for a P5 grid slot for the Tissot Sprint and GP to give Martin’s closest title rival work to do on Saturday and Sunday, while teammate Enea Bastianini is faced with a difficult comeback mission from P10 as he looks to stay in the title fight too.

Q1
Following a Free Practice 2 session that saw the Phillip Island layout spout a drying racing line, the start of Q1 begged the question: slicks or wet tyres? Joan Mir, his Respol Honda teammate Luca Marini and Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) ventured straight out on slicks, with the likes of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and home hero Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) opting for Michelin’s rain tyres.

Acosta and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) came straight in to roll the dice on slicks, Miller then did with nine minutes to go, while Bastianini sat patiently in the box to see what unfolded in the tricky conditions. And once Marini beat Johann Zarco’s (CASTROL Honda LCR) wet tyre time with eight minutes to go, the choice was now obvious. Slicks were the way to go, now it was all about who could make them work best.

Acosta sailed to P1 with a 1:31.627 with just over five minutes to go, with Marini occupying P2 just 0.038s back. Acosta’s next lap was a 1:30.853, Marini went 0.239s slower to keep hold of P2, as Bastianini then demoted his compatriot to third after setting an identical time to Acosta. The ‘Beast’ was then shoved back out of the top two by Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing MotoGP™), but the Spaniard didn’t stay there long as Miller pounced to P2.

But with less than a minute left, the Q2 promotion places were changing constantly. Miller’s final time wasn’t enough as Bastianini climbed to P1, and then Acosta was suddenly out! Zarco was now P2 but the Frenchman was demoted by Marini’s P1 effort before Raul Fernandez claimed P1. Now Bastianini was out, but the Italian rescued his qualifying on his final flying lap to crawl back into P2 to see Marini narrowly miss out.

The late flurry meant Acosta ended P5, equalling a P15 starting slot, with Miller a place behind in P16. Crucially, Bastianini was into the pole position shootout.

Q2
That barnstorming 15 minutes set us up nicely for Q2. The first benchmark was set by Martin, a 1:29.931, as Bastianini, Viñales and Bagnaia slotted into the top four before Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) crashed at Turn 1.

Martin, avoiding the yellow flags, then slammed home a 1:28.365 to sit just under three tenths clear of Viñales. The Spaniards then switched places as Viñales became the first rider to dip his toe into the 1:27s with eight minutes left, seeing a 1:27.991 as the new provisional pole position time. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez had climbed to P3, Q1 graduate Raul Fernandez was P4, with Bagnaia 0.906s away from Viñales in P5.

And that’s how it stayed until the final three minutes. On his first effort on fresh rubber, Martin was on a predicted P1 time before the Championship leader saved a front-end slide on the rise towards Lukey Heights, so that lap was scrapped. That moment clearly knocked the #89’s confidence. Not. Martin fired in a quite ridiculous 1:27.296 to go 0.695s clear as Bagnaia had just one lap to improve after his first attack on new tyres went astray.

Pecco was 0.7s away through the third split but lost more time in Sector 4 to move to P5, and that was where the #1 stayed after Fernandez was unable to improve. Marc Marquez landed a late 1:27.890 to grab second, seeing Viñales drop to P3, as the latter duo were the only riders to get remotely close to Martin’s unreal pole-clinching attempt.

THE GRID
Behind Martin, Marc Marquez and Viñales, Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) heads Row 2 ahead of Bagnaia and Raul Fernandez. That’s a top job from the #25 after he was unable to complete Friday afternoon’s Practice due to illness.

Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) is joined on Row 3 by Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™), with a high-profile fourth row seeing Bastianini joined by Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and 2023 Australian GP podium finisher Di Giannantonio.

That was some pair of qualifying sessions. What twists lie ahead as we begin gearing up for the Tissot Sprint and Sunday’s race? We’re about to find out!

SATURDAY
TISSOT SPRINT: 15:00 (UTC +11)
SUNDAY
GRAND PRIX: 14:00 (UTC +11)

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Marc Marquez leads, Martin and Bagnaia overcome early drama as Bastianini faces Q1 at the Island.

The rain stays away in Practice and it’s a Marquez 1-2 as Bezzecchi nabs third and the top two title contenders make it through – leaving the ‘Beast’ with work to do Down Under.

After a washout in FP1 (although an entertaining one at that), thankfully the weather gods played nicely in the afternoon to allow the MotoGP™ riders a full 60 minutes of dry running around the phenomenal Phillip Island. And leading the way into Saturday will be Marc Marquez, who beat brother and Gresini Racing MotoGP™ teammate Alex Marquez by 0.102s, as Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) made it a Ducati GP23 1-2-3 on Friday afternoon. Meanwhile, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) ended Day 1 in P4 and P5 to sail safely into Q2, but it’s not the same story for Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) as the Italian will need to wade through Q1 after ending Practice in P16.

With more rain potentially on the horizon and the asphalt – for the time being – dry, full attack mode was engaged right from the off in the 60-minute stint. And there was also early drama for the World Championship leader. Martin tucked the front at Turn 4 after nearly running into the back of Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™). It was a small tip-off for the #89, but would it prove costly?

After 15 minutes, Pecco and Martin both hadn’t set a time. Marc Marquez was the session pacesetter after the #93 set a 1:29.020 before a brief red-flag stoppage was had after some overly keen spectators (geese to be precise) decided to have a wander onto the circuit.

A minute later, we were back underway. The top three in the Championship were outside the top 10 with Bastianini in P11 and both Pecco and Martin still yet to set a time. The title-chasing duo needed to wriggle on and on their first attempts, Martin climbed to P9 and Pecco went to P16. 90 seconds later, Martin was up to second, 0.2s away from Marquez’s time, with Pecco improving but only to P13.

Meanwhile, Bastianini jumped to P3 with 36 minutes to go, with Pecco now in the top 10 – but only just. That didn’t last long though because with the rain holding off, riders were finding time. That included home hero Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), who shot to P1 by nearly three tenths thanks to a 1:28.731.

Around 10 minutes later, Marquez returned to the timesheet summit with a 1:28.454. Elsewhere, Bagnaia was back out and the #1 was now up to P6 before that became P4 a lap later, but with the rain still staying away, the closing 20 minutes were getting busy.

Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) was having a strong session as the Frenchman went P2 with 13 minutes to go before Viñales set the new fastest lap of the day. Miller climbed back up the order to P3 and now, Bagnaia was in P11 with 10 minutes to go. That was then P8, but a 1:28.712 wasn’t going to be enough.

And so it proved. A Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) PB lap saw Pecco drop out of the top 10 and at the same time, Martin rose to P3. The goalposts were then moved significantly by an eight-time World Champion. Marquez set a 1:27.770 to go 0.3s clear of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) before Martin cut the advantage to 0.197s.

Needing a good lap time in the final five minutes, Bagnaia delivered a 1:28.013 to propel the reigning Champion to P4, 0.243s adrift of Marquez’s effort. A late pair of crashes for Acosta and Miller – the former at Turn 4 and the latter at Turn 6 – brought out some late yellow flags, and it was a crash that cost Acosta a top 10. In the end, it did for Miller too as Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) and Alex Marquez left it late to leap into the automatic Q2 positions.

So at the end of play, Viñales was P6 behind the aforementioned quintet of Ducatis, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Morbidelli and the impressive Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) completing a top 10 that will be sleeping a little easier tonight than the riders who just missed out on the Q2 cut.

Well in the end it was worth the wait. A busy Practice session ends as attention now turns to Saturday in Phillip Island. What will the weather bring for qualifying and the Tissot Sprint? We’ll find out soon enough as a crucial Super Saturday beckons in Australia and as ever, you can catch it all on motogp.com!

FP2: 10:00 (UTC +11)
Q1: 10:50
Q2: 11:15
Tissot Sprint: 15:00

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