Spaniard Marc Marquez was the fastest in qualifying practice for the Australian Grand Prix on Friday, the 17th round of 20 in the MotoGP world championship, ahead of his brother and Ducati-Gresini teammate Alex Marquez. With a time of 1.27:770, the elder, aged 31 and six-time MotoGP world champion, preceded the younger (28) by 102 thousandths.
Marc Marquez is currently 4th in the championship, 81 points behind leader Jorge Martin (Ducati-Pramac) and has only a very slim chance of winning a 7th title this year. But he marked his return to the top after multiple injuries by already winning two Grand Prix this season, his first since 2021.
Martin, also Spaniard, is 4th at 197 thousandths and his closest pursuer in the championship, the Italian Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) 5th at 243 thousandths. 3rd place in these tests went to the Italian Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati VR46).
The French miss their direct qualification in Q2
Jorge Martin only narrowly avoided a rabbit crossing the track right in front of him while Spaniard Pedro Acosta (GasGas/Tech3) and local hero Jack Miller (KTM) fell.
The first practice session was canceled due to rain, depriving riders of the opportunity to test their machines before qualifying practice.
The Philipp Island route, located on an island near Melbourne (south), is often hit by bad weather. Last year, the Grand Prix was brought forward a day due to forecasts of strong winds while the sprint race was simply canceled.
The sun returned, the competitors were able to take to the track for the qualifying session which saw the drivers having achieved the ten best times take part in Q2, the second part of qualifying contested on Saturday which will determine the first twelve places on the starting grid for the sprint then the GP. The two best times from Q1 are also eligible to participate in Q2.
On the French side, Johann Zarco (Honda-LCR), winner at Phillip Island last year, missed his direct qualification in Q2 by finishing 14th. Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) narrowly missed out by finishing 11th on the heels of his teammate, Spaniard Alex Rins.
Q1 and Q2 will take place on Saturday between 1:50 a.m. and 2:30 a.m. (Paris time, GMT + 2), followed by the sprint at 6:00 a.m. then the Grand Prix on Sunday at 5:00 a.m.
The ranking of the qualifying trials
1. Marc Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) 1 : 27.770 (Q)
2. Alex Marquez (ESP/Ducati-Gresini) at 0.102 (Q)
3. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Ducati-VR46) at 0.188 (Q)
4. Jorge Martín (ESP/Ducati-Pramac) at 0.197 (Q)
5. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) at 0.243 (Q)
6. Maverick Vinales (ESP/Aprilia) at 0.390 (Q)
7. Brad Binder (RSA/KTM) à 0.495 (Q)
8. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Ducati-VR46) at 0.542 (Q)
9. Franco Morbidelli (ITA/Ducati-Pramac) at 0.550 (Q)
10. Alex Rins (ESP/Yamaha) at 0.658 (Q)
11. Fabio Quartararo (FRA/Yamaha) at 0.673
12. Jack Miller (AUS/KTM) at 0.699
13. Pedro Acosta (ESP/GasGaS-Tech3) at 0.758
14. Johann Zarco (FRA/Honda-LCR) at 0.806
15. Augusto Fernandez (ESP/GasGaS-Tech3) at 0.858
16. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati) at 0.989
17. Joan Mir (ESP/Honda) at 1.003
18. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia) at 1.012
19. Luca Marini (ITA/Honda) at 1,050
20. Takaaki Nakagami (JPN/Honda-LCR) à 1,523
21. Lorenzo Savadori (ITA/Aprilia-Trackhouse) at 2,099
22. Raul Fernandez (ESP/Aprilia-Trackhouse) at 2,288
