Six-time MotoGP World Champion Marc Marquez led MotoGP World Championship practice Friday afternoon at Phillip Island, in Australia. Riding his Gresini Racing Ducati on spec Michelin tires, the Spaniard turned a lap time of 1:27.770.
His brother and teammate, Alex Marquez was the best of the rest with a 1:27.872.
Marco Bezzecchi was third at 1:27.958 on his Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati.
Current World Championship point leader, Jorge Martin finished the session fourth with a 1:27.967 on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati.
Two-time and defending Champion, Francesco Bagnaia was fifth with a 1:28.013 on his Lenovo Ducati Desmosedici GP24, making it five Ducatis in the top five.
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
Marc Marquez prevails on Friday as Bastianini faces Q1. The #93 climbed to the top of the standings after an intense afternoon, finishing ahead of Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi.
After no running in FP1, Friday afternoon’s Practice session proved to be a crucial and intense 60 minutes of action at the Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix. The lack of track time did not hold back Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), who delivered a sensational time on Friday, clocking a remarkable 1:27.770 ahead of his brother Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™). The #73 improved on his final lap, ending the day a mere 0.102s behind after completing 25 laps. Meanwhile, Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) rounded out the top three in an impressive day for the Italian at Phillip Island.
There was plenty of drama in the opening stages of the session, with a chance of rain, riders and teams set early benchmarks in the opening five minutes. Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) would crash at Turn 4 in the opening stages – rider OK. Then, with 45 minutes remaining, the red flag was shown due to safety conditions, with both Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Martin yet to set a time. The session resumed, and Martin crucially entered the top 10 on his first flying lap.
The #89 improved further, placing a mere 0.009s behind Marc Marquez, who sat in provisional P1 before home hero Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) entered the 1:28 bracket. The #93 soon responded, eventually dipping into the 1:27 bracket as Bagnaia entered the top five spots. Marc Marquez’ time proved to be strong enough, with his brother soon joining him at the top to make it a Gresini one-two.
Martin held onto fourth at the end of Friday despite an early crash, finishing in front of title rival Bagnaia. The reigning World Champion was unable to dip into the 1:27 bracket but will sleep well after claiming a spot in Q2 tomorrow. The Italian was ahead of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) in sixth spot. The #12 was the top Aprilia rider and the only rider from the Noale factory to place inside the top 10.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) took seventh, pushing hard throughout the hour session. The South African was a further 0.105s behind Viñales but did end the day ahead of the fighting fit Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), who secured eighth at the end of the opening day. Di Giannantonio placed ahead of compatriot Franco Morbidelli(Prima Pramac Racing), with Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) bagging an impressive 10th.
Meanwhile, an unpredictable Q1 awaits on Saturday, with tension now beginning to build after Miller finishing Friday in 12th after suffering a second crash of the day. The Australian will be joined in Q1 by Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3), with the rookie also suffering a fall – riders OK. Meanwhile, Ducati Lenovo Team’s Enea Bastianini will have work to do, ending the day in 16th spot – 0.989s adrift.
Make sure you tune into Saturday’s action at Phillip Island, with an extended FP2 session kicking off MotoGP™ action at 10:00 local time (UTC +11) before the battle for pole position gets underway at 10:50 (UTC +11), which will set the grid for an unmissable Tissot Sprint at 15:00 (UTC +11)!