The weather cleared up at PI yesterday, enough for MotoGP, Moto2 and Moto3 riders to set some super fast times. Spectator’s may have been stuck in the mud, but the action on track was all on slicks. Here is our qualifying and sprint race report. Press: MotoGP, Photography: Brett Butler/MotoGP/AGP Corp

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.

Check out our previous 2024 MotoGP reports here…

MotoGP Qualifying

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.

MotoGP Sprint Race

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 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?

Moto2 Qualifying

For the first time since the Dutch GP, Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) claimed pole position – and in some fashion too. A final lap stormer on the Island saw the Spaniard set a scintillating new all-time lap record, a 1:30.876, to beat Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) by 0.196s as third place goes the way of Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp).

Fourth place Marcos Ramirez (OnlyFans American Racing Team) missed out on a front row start by just 0.024s, and the Spaniard is joined on the second row by Barry Baltus (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) and Japanese GP winner Manuel Gonzalez (Gresini Moto2™). World Championship leader Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) will launch from P9 as he aims to stand on the podium on Sunday to give him a chance to clinch the 2024 crown in Australia. Joe Roberts (OnlyFans American Racing Team) has been ruled out of action after the American suffered a broken scaphoid in a Practice 2 crash.

Moto3 Qualifying

For the third weekend in a row, Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) will launch from pole position after a very late 1:35.872 handed the #48 a Saturday afternoon P1 at Phillip Island. The fight for the front row went down to the wire as both Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) – despite a crash – and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) left it until their final flying laps to earn from row starts in P2 and P3. David Muñoz (BOE Motorsports) was on provisional pole as the chequered flag waved but the #44 was shoved back to P4 by the end of the session.

The Spaniard is joined on the second row by Scott Ogden (FleetSafe Honda – MLav Racing), who bags his best qualifying result of the season in fifth, and sixth place Stefano Nepa (LEVELUP – MTA).

Home hero Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) will launch from P7 despite sitting in P1 in the closing stages of Q2, with the Aussie having Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) and Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) for company on Row 3. 2024 World Champion David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) will start P10, while the other Moto3™ Australian, Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), came through Q1 to claim P13 – one place ahead of teammate Daniel Holgado.

Full Saturday Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix Results here…

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