Marco Bezzecchi tops Friday Practice. After a session with two red flags, the Aprilia rider put in a 1:26.775 to take the top spot. He was followed by Raúl Fernández and Marc Márquez.
With this weekend being the last time we will race here at Phillip Island before moving to Alidade next year, people wanted to push on at one of the world’s best circuits one more time.
This morning, it was M. Márquez who topped the timesheets ahead of Fernández by 0.048 seconds. In third, the home hero Jack Miller, healing the hearts not just of the home fans, but of Yamaha’s too, after their very tough season.
With the weather set to change, getting colder and wetter over the weekend, this session was crucial to figure out the bike setting and to get straight into Q2 ahead of qualifying tomorrow.
Start of Session
As the green flag was waved at the end of the pit lane, the session got underway. All the riders went out onto the circuit, ready for the session ahead.
After the first few laps set, it was Johann Zarco who was fastest on his LCR Honda. He was ahead of Bezzecchi and M. Márquez.
Early on in the session, there were already some crashes. There was one for Miller, who crashed at turn 6. It was a very fast crash, and he thankfully walked away.
Not too long to wait until the next crash, this time for Bezzecchi. He crashed into the hairpin after riding into the back of Álex Márquez. What could have been a very ugly crash, Bezzecchi managed to control. The crash brought out the red flag to clear the track.
The restarted session
After a very short red flag, the session got back underway with riders heading back out to the Phillip Island circuit.
Jorge Martín got his head down and set the fastest lap. After being underway for six minutes, we got another red flag for a wallaby on the circuit. They managed to get the wallaby out of danger and get the session back underway.
As the midpoint of the session came around, it was Bezzecchi who topped the time sheets in what was a quiet session up to this point. After winning the Indonesian Grand Prix, Bezzecchi kept the speed. The yellow flag came out at turn 11 for Augusto Fernández, who got straight up after losing the rear at a very fast point of the circuit.
With 20 minutes to go, Pedro Acosta but a lap in to top the timesheets. Fabio Di Giannantonio was also pushing hard, making his way up to third. It was KTM-Aprilia-Ducati, 1-2-3. Looking at riding style, Acosta was showing the skill Casey Stoner used to display around this circuit—smoking the rear around the Stoner Corner.
Last 15 Minutes
In the last 15 minutes, all the riders were pushing hard to secure their spot in Q2 tomorrow. With many riders setting fastest sectors, some fast laps are being set by riders such as Á. Márquez, Ai Ogura, and M. Márquez.
Iker Lecouna is back this weekend replacing, Fermín Aldeguer, and he was in the mix with a lot of riders.
With a late crash for Á. Márquez brought out the yellow flag, messing up many of riders’ laps. The Aprilias looked very strong, with all four bikes in the top five just being split by M. Márquez.
Bezzecchi ended the day fastest ahead of Fernández and M. Márquez. After a strong start this morning, none of the Yamahas were in the top 10. It was a good result for Enea Bastianini, who finished the top KTM in P6.
At the practice starts, M. Márquez’s bike stalled which was usual for the MotoGP bikes. The Mechanics had to push it off the circuit, and he got a ride back to the pits.