Marco Bezzecchi overcame an early crash to set the pace in a chaotic and disrupted MotoGP Friday practice at Phillip Island, heading Raul Fernandez and Marc Marquez.
In windy conditions and despite an early crash, Marco Bezzecchi claimed the fastest time in Friday practice at the Australian GP, clocking a 1:26.775, just three-tenths away from the all-time lap record. His earlier contact with Alex Marquez interrupted the session, resulting in a brief red flag. A second stoppage followed shortly after as a wallaby made a surprise appearance on the Phillip Island track.
Raul Fernandez secured P2 once again, slotting in ahead of Marc Marquez in third. Marquez stands as the only Ducati rider able to break up a top-five dominated otherwise by Aprilia machinery, with Ai Ogura taking fourth and Jorge Martin fifth. Well suited for the circuit’s long, sweeping bends, carrying superior cornering speed thanks to a high-performing aerodynamic package, the Aprilias hold a clear advantage over the competition.
Nevertheless, the current championship leader and Marc Marquez’s primary title rival, Jorge Martin had a somewhat subdued start to the weekend this Friday. Marquez will therefore aim to disrupt Noale’s advance on a track where he holds the most wins with four.
Alex Marquez finished sixth despite a late crash at Turns 4 and 5, while Tech3 rider Enea Bastianini outpaced Pedro Acosta by 0.433s to take seventh ahead of the Spaniard in eigth. Diogo Moreira finished ninth as the first of only two Honda representatives on track, as Luca Marini was forced to sit out due to a viral illness. Marini’s physical condition will be reassessed Saturday morning ahead of Qualifying for the Australian GP.
Fabio Di Giannantonio grabbed the final direct spot into Q2, leaving the rest of the field to fight for the final two progression slots in Saturday morning’s Q1 session.
Johann Zarco narrowly missed out on an automatic ticket to Q2 by just 0.782s, while local hero Jack Miller languished in 12th following a second crash of the day at Turn 6.
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