Fabio Quartararo earned pole position during MotoGP World Championship qualifying on Saturday at Phillip Island, in Australia. Riding his Monster Energy Yamaha YZR-M1, the Frenchman broke Marco Bezzecchi’s 2025 All-Time Lap Record of 1:26.492 he set Friday afternoon with a time of 1:26.465 around the 2.76-mile (4.45 km) circuit during Qualifying Two (Q2) on Saturday.
Marco Bezzecchi was the best of the rest with a 1:26.496 on his Aprilia Racing RS-GP25, and home hero Jack Miller claimed the third and final spot on the front row with a 1:26.708 on his Prima Pramac Yamaha YZR-M1.
Row-two qualifiers included Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez (1:26.851), Red Bull KTM Factory’s Pedro Acosta (1:26.874) and BK8 Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez (1:26.920)
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More from a press release issued by Dorna:
Quartararo beats Bezzecchi to last-gasp Island pole, Miller bags front row. The Yamaha star beats the Italian by just 0.031s as the home hero comes through Q1 to slot his YZR-M1 on the front row at Phillip Island.
Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), take a bow. A new all-time lap record around Phillip Island is what it took to beat Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) to pole position, and that’s exactly what the Frenchman threw down. That 1:26.465 from El Diablo was 0.031s quicker than the Italian’s best effort, and joining the duo on the front row will be home hero Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP). The Australian dug deep to come through Q1 and delight the home faithful, setting us up good and proper for the Tissot Sprint and Grand Prix.
Q1: Aldeguer and Miller earn Q2 spots
Home hero Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) found himself in Q1 and was the early pacesetter after the opening laps were chucked in on the Island. The session favourite was arguably Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) though and it was the Indonesian GP winner who sailed to P1 with a 1:27.201, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) slotting into P2 after the first stints were done.
READ MORE: SUNDAY SCHEDULE UPDATE FOR THE AUSTRALIAN GP
0.055s split Aldeguer and Binder, with Miller 0.137s away from the top two in P3. Could the Australian wriggle his way into Q2? He was certainly giving it a good go. As Aldeguer extended his advantage at the top with a 1:27.071, Miller climbed above Binder into P2 to go 0.144s adrift of Aldeguer. But it wasn’t over yet.
Binder was on a charge but just ahead, Miller improved again to beat Binder’s time by 0.029s, with the top three split by 0.038s heading onto the final lap. All three of those riders were done, but Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) wasn’t. Setting a red sector through split two, the Frenchman was on course for the top two but Zarco encountered traffic through Turn 7 and 8, with Binder looking like the guilty party – in Zarco’s eyes anyway. The HRC rider was forced to abandon the lap and with that, it was Aldeguer and Miller venturing into Q2.
Q2: Quartararo leaves it late to oust Bezzecchi
And then, it was pole position shootout time at Phillip Island. Leading the way early doors was Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) but on his second flyer, the #73 was down at Turn 4. Meanwhile, to the sound of plenty of Australian cheers, Miller stuck his Yamaha on provisional pole with a 1:26.885, and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech3) climbed into P2!
Marquez got his Ducati fired up again to bring it back to the box, but by the time he did, the rider second in the championship had been shuffled down to P6, then P7. It was Miller from Espargaro from Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), with Aldeguer fronting the second row alongside Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).
Aldeguer then went P2 after setting the exact same lap time as Espargaro, with Turn 4 seeing Bezzecchi vent plenty of frustrations at Marini and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). At this stage, the pre-session favourite was down in P11, one place behind Pecco, as we then geared up for the final five minutes of Q2.
On his out-lap, Miller had an unwanted trip into the Turn 2 gravel trap, but he kept it upright. Now, attention turned to Bezzecchi. And sure enough, the Italian rose to P1 with a 1:26.565, before Alex Marquez crashed for a second time. And this one was a lot quicker. Turn 1 bit the Spaniard, thankfully he was alright, but that was his chances of a front row gone.
Back on track, Bezzecchi stretched his legs again to cement pole position, as Acosta climbed up to P2 on his penultimate lap. That shoved Miller down to P3, but another Yamaha was flying. Quartararo was up through sector three and racing towards the line, we held our breath to see if the Frenchman could oust Bezzecchi. And he did. A stunner. Quartararo slammed home that 1:26.465 to clinch a late pole position in Australia, and Miller improved on his last lap too, meaning the #43 earned his first front row since the 2023 Japanese GP.
Your front four rows for the Australian GP
That was a proper qualifying session on the Island. Fernandez was another late improver to claim P4, with Acosta and Alex Marquez making up Row 2 in P5 and P6. Aldeguer launches his victory attack from P7, Espargaro joins his compatriot on Row 3 in P8, with Marini ninth and the top HRC rider. Di Giannantonio spearheads the fourth row in P10 ahead of Bagnaia – who was forced to sit up and out of his time attack at the end of the session – and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).
Coming up: Tissot Sprint time at Phillip Island
Doesn’t need to be said, but we’ll do it anyway: don’t miss the Tissot Sprint from Phillip Island! Quartararo on pole, Bezzecchi the favourite, and a home hero on the front row. 15:00 local time, be there.