More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Arbolino tames the Island in shortened showdown as drama hits for Acosta

Tony Arbolino (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) went a stunning 15 seconds clear in a shortened and rain-soaked Moto2™ race at the MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The red flags came out with 14 laps remaining as conditions worsened and half points were awarded, but the drama had already hit for Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) as the number 37 crashed on the sighting lap and had to start the race from the back of the grid. Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) and Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) took second and third , the former aiming for a top three overall in 2023 and the latter taking back to back podiums for the first time.

The race got underway and it was Canet that led the charge into Turn 1, but not long after the Pons machine dropped to fourth after the two Boscoscuro riders of Alonso Lopez (Beta Tools SpeedUp) and Aldeguer pushed their way through, with Arbolino also on an early charge.

It was a short-lived story for Lopez however, who crashed out of the race lead not long after, rider ok but out of the race at the venue he’d reigned in 2022 in the dry. He rejoined but was ultimately four laps down.

That gave the race lead to rookie Sergio Garcia (Pons Wegow Los40), with Arbolino and Filip Salač (QJMOTOR Gresini Racing Moto2™) rounding out the top three early doors.

The order quickly changed once again though, and this time it was Garcia who crashed out of the race lead, with Salač going down nearly simultaneously from third.

The laps ticked away as the riders braved the tricky conditions, but Arbolino had checked out already as he stretched out a 15-second lead. That was ahead of Canet and Aldeguer after crashes for Sam Lowes (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team) and Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) reshuffled the order in the chasing pack once more. 

With 14 laps to go, however, the conditions were worsening and the Red Flag came out. The race was initially set to be restarted as a six-lap dash but with the conditions failing to improve, the result was declared and half points awarded. Arbolino, Canet and Aldeguer took the rostrum, with Jeremy Alcoba (QJMOTOR Gresini Racing Moto2™) and Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) completing the top five ahead of rookie Izan Guevara (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team).

Acosta made a fair charge from the back, but with ninth position and half points the advantage is down to 56 points. Still, that’s enough for the number 37 to have his first shot at the crown in Buriram! Tune in for match point Acosta at the OR Thailand Grand Prix!

Deniz Oncu won the Moto3 World Championship race Sunday in cold and rainy conditions at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Australia. Riding his Red Bull KTM Ajo machine, the Turkish star won the 21-lap race by 0.407 second.

Ayumu Sasaki was the runner-up on his Liqui Moly Intact GP Husqvarna, and Joel Kelso finished third on his CFMOTO Racing PruestelGP machine.

Editorial Note: The full-length MotoGP feature race was moved up from Sunday to Saturday afternoon due to inclement weather forecast to hit Phillip Island on Sunday.

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

CHAPEAU! Zarco takes maiden MotoGP™ win after an unbelievable finish at Phillip Island

The Frenchman catches Martin in a last lap rush, with Bagnaia slicing through to extend his lead to 27 points as the number 89 plummets to fifth

The backflip is back! Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) took a stunning maiden MotoGP™ win at the MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, stalking his way onto the rear wheel of teammate and title contender Jorge Martin before making a brutal, clean and perfectly-judged move to take the lead on the very last lap. He also opened the door for a perfectly-judged lunge from Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) too, with Pecco picking Martin’s pocket and the Pramac on the soft rear tyre then finding himself mobbed by both Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) late on.

As the dust settles and some more history is made, Zarco gives away his record as the rider with the most MotoGP™ podiums without a win, Martin licks his wounds as he faces down a 27-point deficit in the Championship, Bagnaia celebrates another stylish bounce back from Q1 to the podium… and ‘Diggia’ enjoys that sweet Prosecco of a first ever premier class podium.

Before all that, Binder threatened the holeshot with a great start but Martin held firm from pole, immediately getting the hammer down as the two shot off into the lead and the shuffle began just behind. And that was that. Except this time, it wasn’t.

Martin’s strategy was clear: the number 89, an incredible four tenths clear on pole, had gambled on the soft rear hanging on as he escaped at the front and nursed it home. And the strategy was absolutely perfect until the very last handful of laps, when the Jaws music really began and Martin’s odds dropped off a cliff as the chasing group closed in.

The gap was over three seconds when it was Binder trying to keep tabs, and after an impressive start from an impressive qualifying, next came Diggia, and then Bagnaia at the head of a serious battle for fourth. The reigning Champion led Zarco, Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team), with elbows out all over the shop in the first third of the race.

Bit by bit as Martin edged clear in the lead, however, Binder held onto second but Diggia homed in on the KTM – and Bagnaia and Zarco started to create their own daylight to the duels behind them.

By 16 laps to go, Di Giannantonio had Binder well within a second and was only continuing to close in, but Bagnaia and Zarco had been able to go with the number 49. The gap kept see-sawing, however, with the Gresini machine homing in on the KTM and Bagnaia losing ground before another few laps would see it close back up. By nine laps to go, Di Giannantonio then made his move and pulled alongside the KTM on the Gardner straight, taking over in second.

The chase was on and the gap to Martin started to come down, but the number 49 wasn’t making the charge alone. Binder, Bagnaia AND Zarco were all locked together on the simple but difficult mission of catching the race leader, and that they started to do. But was it enough? When Binder attacked back with five laps to go, the group ran the risk of losing time in the battle but the gap was still coming down – just over two seconds across the start-finish line.

On the third to last lap, Martin’s advantage started to really tumble in tenths, with Binder still on the chase and Zarco now next in line as he’d taken over in third. Over the line with two to go it was 1.2 seconds, but Turn 4 saw another huge shuffle and another risk of losing time. But it was Zarco who went for a dress rehearsal and equally well-judged attack, snatching second place and quickly setting off after Martin.

Over the line for the last lap the number 89 had just four tenths left in hand ahead of his teammate, Bagnaia was now the bike behind Zarco and Binder had dropped to fifth. And again, it came at Turn 4. The number 5 slammed up the inside of Martin to take the lead, Bagnaia cut back in in a flash to also demote the number 89, and suddenly everything had changed: Zarco was just corners from a maiden MotoGP™ win, Bagnaia was on the verge of a huge change in momentum, and Martin was left trying to fend off Di Giannantonio and Binder.

That he could not. As Zarco crossed the finish line to take that first ever premier class win, Bagnaia took second and Di Giannantonio was more than able to grab third and his first MotoGP™ podium, with Binder ultimately also demoting Martin right on the finish line.

The battle behind was no slouch either. After elbows earlier in the race there were plenty more, with Bezzecchi slicing through to take sixth from Miller. Aleix Espargaro was even closer behind in eighth, ahead of a seriously impressive charge from the still-recovering Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™). Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) completed the top ten ahead of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) after Top Gun was shuffled down the order in a Turn 1 shuffle, and Marc Marquez, another gambler on the soft rear tyre, ultimately finished P15.

That’s that from a historic, unique and instantly iconic Saturday Grand Prix race at Phillip Island, and it’s Johann Zarco who writes his name into the historic books with a maiden MotoGP™ win. Bagnaia proved once again he can’t be written off, but Martin showed yet more pure speed. Now we look to the skies as we wait for Sunday, with races all set to start an hour early and fingers crossed for more awesome action Down Under if the weather holds out. See you on Sunday!

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Aldeguer unstoppable in Australia to take pole ahead of Canet and Lopez, Acosta fifth

Following his incredible form in Practice, Fermin Aldeguer (Beta Tools SpeedUp) did not disappoint in qualifying Down Under. The Spaniard set a new record to take pole position in the intermediate category with a scintillating 1:31.888, and joining him on the front row will be Aron Canet (Pons Wegow Los40) after the Valencian put in a stellar performance to take P2. The polesitter’s teammate Alonso Lopez, winner last year at Phillip Island, made it two Boscoscuros in the top three as Championship leader Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo) is set to start fifth.

Joe Roberts (Italtrans Racing Team) just missed out on a front-row start by only 0.012s as he took P4, just ahead of Acosta. The pair will be joined by Jake Dixon (Inde GASGAS Aspar Team) on the outside of Row 2 after he bagged 6th place. The third row of the grid went to rookie Sergio Garcia (Pons Wegow Los40), second in the Championship Tony Arbolino (Elf MarcVDS Racing Team), and Darryn Binder (Liqui Moly Husqvarna IntactGP) in that order,  with Manuel Gonzalez (Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 Master Camp) rounding out the top ten. 

Make sure not to miss any of the Moto2™ action set to commence on Sunday at 11:15 local time (GMT +11)… with Acosta really starting to home in on that crown. Can he gain himself a first match point for Buriram?

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Sasaki bounces back for stunning pole as Masia starts P13

Qualifying at the MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix went the way of Championship hopeful Ayumu Sasaki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) as the Japanese rider grabbed the honours from home hero Joel Kelso (CFMoto Racing PruestelGP). The home hero made it onto the front row with his home crowd cheering him on, ahead of Stefano Nepa (Angeluss MTA Team) in third. Championship leader Jaume Masia (Leopard Racing) will start from down in P13, with challenger Daniel Holgado (Red Bull KTM Tech3) only two places further ahead on the grid.

Winner last time out, Diogo Moreira (MT Helmets – MSI) missed out on the front row by 0.105s as he’s set to head Row 2 ahead of Matteo Bertelle (Rivacold Snipers Team) and Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP). Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) fronts Row 3 in seventh place as he’s joined by David Alonso (Gaviota GASGAS Aspar Team), who also crashed in Q2, rider ok, and Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing). Replacement rider Vicente Perez (BOE Motorsports) rounds out the top 10 ahead of Holgado, with Masia in P13.

The Moto3™ riders’ attention now turns to the race on Sunday, make sure not to miss any of the action as it commences at the earlier time of 10:00 local time (GMT +11).

Jorge Martin earned pole position during MotoGP World Championship qualifying Saturday at Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, in Australia. Riding his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati, the Spaniard lapped the 2.6-mile (4.5 km) course in 1:27.246, shattering his own All-Time Lap Record of 1:27.767 set in 2022.

Brad Binder was the best of the rest with a 1:27.662 on his Red Bull KTM RC16, and defending World Champion Francesco Bagnaia advanced from Qualifying One (Q1) to post the third-fastest time, a 1:27.714, on his Lenovo Ducati in Qualifying Two (Q2).

More, from a press release issued by Dorna:

Martin, Binder, Bagnaia: qualifying sets the scene for an Island classic

Binder splits the top two in the Championship, with Bagnaia making it through Q1 but Martin unstoppable in Q2 with a searing new lap record

Saturday, 21 October 2023

Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) remained eye-wateringly fast at Phillip Island to take a lap record pole on Saturday morning, with the title challenger in a prime position and over four tenths clear as he looks to grab back that Championship lead both found and lost in Indonesia. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), fastest on Friday, takes second on the grid with some ominous speed, with Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) completing the front row after a successful and impressive rescue mission coming through Q1.

Q1

After the first runs it was Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) leading the way ahead of Bagnaia, with Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) just a single thousandth off the number 93’s time in a close, close contest.

On the second time of asking, Bagnaia’s first hot lap saw him take over on top by 0.275. But the red sectors kept coming, from both the reigning Champion and the eight-time Champion looking to move through with him. In the final seconds the two flew across the line and Bagnaia improved his own fastest lap to stay top, with Marc Marquez moving up to second and heading through to Q2 – just 0.077 off the Ducati.

Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) also made a late charge and was just another 0.010 back, pipping Augusto Fernandez to P13 on the grid but neither quite making it out of Q1.

Q2

The first runs saw a familiar name take over on top: Martin. The number 89 was nearly a quarter of a second clear of Binder, with Bagnaia bouncing back early to a provisional front row.

On attack two, Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) was tucked in behind Martin, and Marc Marquez was tucked in behind Bagnaia – including for a trip through the run off to rejoin. But once the gas was open, the red sectors began to come in.

Martin’s lap was a stunner and a new lap record, seeing him hammer that advantage home on provisional pole by over four tenths. Aleix Espargaro moved up into second and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) into third, with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) also edging out his teammate initially.

The next attack from Binder saw him hit back and nab second though, and Bagnaia then slotted in just behind the South African to get back on the provisional front row. That’s how it stayed, with no one else able to challenge and a tantalising trio ready to head the grid for our Saturday Grand Prix race.

THE GRID

Behind Martin, Binder and Bagnaia as the KTM gets ready to stir it up for the top two in the title fight, Aleix Espargaro heads Row 2. Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) takes P5 to pip Diggia late on.

Marc Marquez heads Row 3 ahead of home hero Miller, with Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) in P9 after improving late on but proving unable to quite make those first two rows. Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) is down in P10 ahead of Pol Espargaro (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3), with Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) having a tougher session in P12.

The top two contenders on the front row split by a Red Bull KTM ready to pay their battle no heed promises much as the lights go out Down Under. So make sure to tune in for a SUPER Saturday:

Join us for the GRAND PRIX RACE at 15:10 (GMT +11)!