At the Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, Johann Zarco has made a statement by dominating yet another practice session. The Prima Pramac Racing rider topped the timesheet in MotoGPTM FP1 at Phillip Island, and his late 1:29.475 in FP2 kept him in the top spot. Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) finished third, World Championship leader Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGPTM) placed fourth, and Maverick Viales (Aprilia Racing) finished fifth at the conclusion of Friday’s racing Down Under, making it an all-Ducati top five.
It’s Johann Zarco, once again
For FP1, the drivers were met with gusty winds and a track that was still somewhat wet, and Zarco’s 1:30.368 time achieved in the previous session was swiftly challenged. On his first lap, Marc Marquez of the Repsol Honda Team set the new benchmark with a time of 1:30.126; Maverick Viales of the Aprilia Racing team followed suit with a time of 1:30.257. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGPTM), who started off 12th in FP1 after choosing to stick with the same Michelin tyres for the whole session, climbed up to third with just over 10 minutes remaining, with a lap time of 1:30.351.
With cool conditions expected on Saturday morning, the stakes were high as the top three riders stood before the time attacks. With Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) sitting one position outside the provisional Q2 cut-off and Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) in the danger zone at 10th, the outcome was far from certain. Bezzecchi, Viales, and Quartararo took turns at the front after fresh Michelin tyres were installed all over the track. Bezzecchi, who had fallen all the way to sixth, clocked in a 1:29.513 in the last minute to reclaim the lead, but was beaten to the line by Zarco by 0.038 seconds.
There is a lot of close competition in the top 10
Pol Espargaro finished third with a time of 1:29.527, behind Quartararo ( 1:29.614) and Viales (1:29.745). Marc Marquez finished sixth with a time of 1:29.775, continuing the Repsol Honda Team’s exploration of novel aerodynamics by riding an RC213V equipped with the new aero body but the old tail unit (instead of the Ducati-style’stegosaurus’ version). With his seventh-place finish and 1:29.832 lap time, Aleix Espargaro had a solid chance of advancing to Q2, while championship competitor Bagnaia soon joined him after posting a 1:29.838.
Due to the presence of Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGPTM) and Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), Ducati’s home-town star Jack Miller was left out of the top 10. (Ducati Lenovo Team). Returning home after two podium finishes, “Thriller” may have been unfortunate not to lead the timesheets in Free Practice 1 due to encountering traffic late in the session, but he still managed to only improve to a 1:30.021 on his last lap in Free Practice 2, placing him in 13th. Keep in mind that Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was just 0.448 seconds slower than Zarco’s best lap time, yet he missed the top 10 by a single spot.
Will Zarco’s winning run continue, and can Miller bounce back in FP3 to secure a spot in Q2 on The Island? This Saturday at 9:55 (GMT + 1), you’ll find out!
Friday’s Top Ten in MotoGPTM
- Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) – 1:29.475
- Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) + 0.038
- Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.052
- Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGPTM) + 0.139
- Maverick Viales (Aprilia Racing) + 0.270
- Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) + 0.300
- Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) +0.357
- Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) + 0.363
- Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGPTM) + 0.374
- Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) + 0.406
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