With rain looming and a red flag, the opening MotoGP practice session at Phillip Island was a chaotic crash fest led by Marc & Alex Marquez.
As the session wrapped up with just 5 minutes remaining, the Gresini duo locked out the top two spots on the timesheets, separated by a mere 0.102 seconds. Marc Marquez was first to dip into the 1’27s to take P1 relatively early in Practice while his brother Alex managed 1’27.872 with just seconds remaining on the clock.
Marco Bezzecchi was right on the Spaniards’ tails, just 0.188 seconds off the top spot, with Jorge Martin and reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia completing the top five.
Bagnaia, after spending much of the session outside the Top 10, managed a 1’28.013, securing a Q2 spot with less than 10 minutes to go.
The session saw multiple incidents that brought out the yellow flags. Australian favorite Jack Miller had two crashes – first running off at his own corner (T4), and later falling again with 8 minutes to go in Turn 6.
Rookie sensation Pedro Acosta also hit the deck, losing the front on the wet grass outside of Miller Corner after missing the braking point.
Having saved several bigger moments earlier in the session, the GASGAS rider’s luck finally ran out with eight minutes to go. The session was temporarily halted by a red flag 18 minutes in, caused by wildlife straying onto the track (a Phillip Island classic).
Goose on the loose 🙃#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/BbbJhVGz4V
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 18, 2024
With rain approaching fast, the riders scrambled to set Q2-worthy times after the restart. Aleix Espargaro, continuously dealing with setup issues, could only manage P18, a far cry from his usual form.
The Spaniard’s teammate Maverick Viñales took P6 with a solid 1’28.160, just ahead of Brad Binder, who snuck into seventh by 0.105 seconds. Fabio Di Giannantonio followed closely in P8, while Franco Morbidelli and Alex Rins rounded out the top ten.
The Yamaha rider is back in Q2 for the first time since the Italian Grand Prix at Mugello. He was the only rider on a Japanese bike to qualify directly for Q2.
Having one of its riders already at home due to injury, Trackhouse Racing started the weekend on the wrong foot.
While Oliveira replacement and Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori crashed at Doohan Corner, one of the fastest on the calendar, Raul Fernandez was unable to complete more than ten laps as he felt unwell. The Spaniard skipped the post-practice media debriefs to recover for tomorrow’s track action.
