Martin and Arbolino fastest in Moto2 and Moto3 categories.
Image: Russell Colvin.
Monster Energy Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales has edged out home hero Jack Miller (Pramac Miller) in a wet FP1 session at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
The Spaniard recorded a time of 1m38.957s, just a fraction ahead of Miller’s 1m39.104s. Recently-crowned world champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) concluded the top three with a time of 1m39.342s.
Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha), who’s set to start his 400th grand prix this weekend, was fourth followed by Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team).
The top 10 was rounded out by Franco Morbidelli (Petronas Yamaha SRT), Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT) – who as transferred to hospital after a nasty highside – Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech3), and Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team). In his return to riding, and on debut with LCR Honda, Johann Zarco completed the session in 13th.
Image: Russell Colvin.
Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Jorge Martin topped the Moto2 timesheets in FP1, setting a time of 1m45.823s. He was well clear of Nicolo Bulega (SKY Racing Team VR46) and Stefano Manzi (MV Agusta Temporary Forward).
Xavi Vierge (EG 0,0 Marc VDS) and Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) were fourth and fifth respectively, as Australian Remy Gardner (SAG Racing) was 11th fastest, however suffered a heavy fall in the session.
Image: Russell Colvin.
In the Moto3 category, Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers) was fastest ahead of Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing) and Romano Fenati (VNE Snipers), as the top five was completed by Darryn Binder (CIP Green Power) and John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing).
Australian wildcard Yannis Shaw (Double Six Motor Sport) didn’t make it out in the session, while New Zealand’s Rogan Chandler (Double Six Motor Sport) was classed as ‘not qualified’ in the session.
It was a hot spring day that greeted competitors and team as they set-up for the weekend proceedings, but this morning it was overcast with intermittent drizzle.
Moto3 FP1
When the Moto3 riders went out at 0900 the track was very wet indeed. One of the first to fall victim to the conditions was local wild-card entrant Yanni Shaw. He was up uninjured but failed to register a time in the session. His fellow Double Six Motorsport wild-card and team-mate for the weekend Rogan Chandler managed seven laps with a best of 2m01.257s.
Tony Arbolino topped Moto3 FP1 from fellow Honda rider rider Lorenzo Dalla Porta. Romano Fenati made it a Honda 1-2-3, Arbolino’s morning wet benchmark a 1m48.024s.
Pos
Rider
Bike
Time/Gap
1
Tony ARBOLINO
HONDA
1m48.024
2
Lorenzo DALLA PORTA
HONDA
+0.740
3
Romano FENATI
HONDA
+1.061
4
Darryn BINDER
KTM
+1.324
5
John MCPHEE
HONDA
+1.458
6
Gabriel RODRIGO
HONDA
+1.671
7
Andrea MIGNO
KTM
+2.265
8
Sergio GARCIA
HONDA
+2.301
9
Riccardo ROSSI
HONDA
+2.740
10
Marcos RAMIREZ
HONDA
+2.927
11
Aron CANET
KTM
+2.969
12
Alonso LOPEZ
HONDA
+3.134
13
Tatsuki SUZUKI
HONDA
+3.373
14
Can ONCU
KTM
+3.433
15
Niccolò ANTONELLI
HONDA
+3.541
16
Jakub KORNFEIL
KTM
+3.719
17
Makar YURCHENKO
KTM
+3.852
18
Stefano NEPA
KTM
+3.909
19
Celestino VIETTI
KTM
+3.925
20
Filip SALAC
KTM
+4.069
21
Ai OGURA
HONDA
+4.499
22
Tom BOOTH-AMOS
KTM
+4.571
23
Ayumu SASAKI
HONDA
+4.791
24
Raul FERNANDEZ
KTM
+5.334
25
Jaume MASIA
KTM
+5.553
26
Dennis FOGGIA
KTM
+5.649
27
Kaito TOBA
HONDA
+5.660
28
Kazuki MASAKI
KTM
+6.008
29
Albert ARENAS
KTM
+6.078
Not qualified (Out 107%)
DNQ
15 Rogan CHANDLER
KALEX KTM
+13.233
Moto2 FP1
Conditions were similar when Moto2 hit the track at 0940 and Remy Gardner quickly established himself as the man to beat.
The pace hotted up in the second half of the session and the young Australian was overhauled by Bulega, Bezzecchi, Chantra and Binder pushing him back to fifth with 20-minutes remaining in the 40-minute opening practice session.
Chantra then added his name to the long list of fallers in the treacherous conditions, immediately followed by Brit Jake Dixon.
With three-minutes remaining in the session Gardner had slipped outside the top ten. The 21-year-old was then put in a last ditch effort to improve his standing before suffering a hefty fall at Hayshed. It was a big tumble, the front end ripping out of his machine, but the young Aussie, seemingly, escaped any major injuries.
Surviving the carnage to claim top spot for the morning was Jorge Martin, a 1m45.832 on his 16th and final lap of the session good enough to demote Bulega to P2.
Pos
Rider
Motorcycle
Time/Gap
1
Jorge MARTIN
KTM
1m45.823
2
Nicolo BULEGA
KALEX
+0.771
3
Stefano MANZI
MV AGUSTA
+1.138
4
Xavi VIERGE
KALEX
+1.175
5
Thomas LUTHI
KALEX
+1.184
6
Andrea LOCATELLI
KALEX
+1.283
7
Marco BEZZECCHI
KTM
+1.433
8
Sam LOWES
KALEX
+1.507
9
Alex MARQUEZ
KALEX
+1.716
10
Marcel SCHROTTER
KALEX
+1.810
11
Remy GARDNER
KALEX
+1.919
12
Somkiat CHANTRA
KALEX
+2.044
13
Tetsuta NAGASHIMA
KALEX
+2.296
14
Lorenzo BALDASSARRI
KALEX
+2.314
15
Brad BINDER
KTM
+2.319
16
Bo BENDSNEYDER
NTS
+2.518
17
Jesko RAFFIN
NTS
+2.792
18
Augusto FERNANDEZ
KALEX
+3.132
19
Joe ROBERTS
KTM
+3.201
20
Jorge NAVARRO
SPEED UP
+3.314
21
Xavi CARDELUS
KTM
+3.799
22
Dimas EKKY PRATAMA
KALEX
+3.814
23
Dominique AEGERTER
MV AGUSTA
+3.905
24
Lukas TULOVIC
KTM
+4.275
25
Jake DIXON
KTM
+4.875
26
Philipp OETTL
KTM
+5.384
27
Adam NORRODIN
KALEX
+6.293
28
Enea BASTIANINI
KALEX
+7.058
29
Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO
MotoGP FP1
Jack Miller was quick out of the blocks when FP1 got underway and held sway at the top of the time-sheets for the opening ten-minutes of the session before Marc Marquez went quicker on lap six.
It was somewhat of a strange sight seeing Johann Zarco’s #5 on the front of an LCR Honda blasting around the circuit. The Frenchman was already looking quite comfortable.
Maverick Vinales then bested them both when he became the third man to lap under the 1m40s barrier. 1m39s on what was still a very wet track throwing up spray is hard to get your head around.
Vinales slithered a few of those 1m39s in, dropping another tenth here and there the 24-year-old Spaniard was putting on an exciting show. It is amazing to think Vinales is still that young, he already seems like somewhat of a MotoGP veteran. Halfway through the session he became the first to drop in a 1m38s, lowering the benchmark further.
While Vinales put in plenty of laps, most of MotoGP’s heavy hitters had been in their pit-box watching the show on their monitors. Marquez then went out as Vinales came in. 15 minutes later and Marquez had still not bested Vinales’ time.Late in the session though Jack Miller improved and pushed the World Champion back to P3.
Valentino Rossi was on the improve though, up to fourth place.
Vinales went out with a few minutes remaining in the session and was immediately under his time through the first series of splits, only to be spoiled by traffic in the final section and failed to improve.
Nonetheless the Spaniard’s earlier benchmark proved good enough to hold sway and claim FP1 honours from Miller with Marquez third. Danilo Petrucci was P5 ahead of Franco Morbidelli.
Fabio Quartararo was seventh on the timesheets before throwing it away at turn six. The young Frenchman looked hurt and was carried away on a stretcher and sent to the medical centre.
Pol Espargaro took P8 ahead of fellow KTM rider Miguel Oliveira and the #4 Ducati of Andrea Dovizioso rounded out the top ten, and thus the last provisional automatic entry to Q2 on Saturday afternoon. That could be crucial depending on what the weather does this afternoon, as by the forecast, Saturday could be very wet indeed…
Oliveira, 24, will remain in the satellite team aboard a factory specification RC16, while Binder – initially signed to Tech3 for his MotoGP graduation – has been promoted to partner Pol Espargaro prior to turning a wheel in the premier class.
“KTM approached me at Misano and, they weren’t really asking me anything or giving me the option, they just said that there was this seat that was available in the factory team and they were thinking about putting Mika [Kallio] there,” explained Oliveira.
“I said, well if it’s Mika, I think it’s completely fine for me because I had built a good relationship with the Tech3 team and it doesn’t make sense to make the switch. In any case, you know we were supposed to have a factory bike this year that didn’t happen until recently and who knows about next year…
“This is the thing I want to look at, the KTM relationship in the long term and having chosen a rookie who is the same age as me makes me feel a bit like I’m not worthy enough to be there. But it’s their decision and I respect it – it doesn’t change any single thing on my mind of being here and doing the maximum.”
The story from Oliveira came as a surprise of sorts to KTM management at Phillip Island, which is claiming the Portuguese rider in fact opted to stay at Tech3 next season when questioned if he would be willing to join Espargaro in the factory team next year.
Miller ‘a chance’ of challenging for podium at home grand prix
Section: Competition
Home favourite confident leading into Phillip Island.
Image: Supplied.
Australian fan-favourite Jack Miller is confident he’s a chance of challenging up front in his home grand prix this weekend at Phillip Island.
Less than ideal weather is predicted across the weekend, however the Pramac Racing ace will take each day as it comes, acknowledging the local conditions can often suddenly differ from what is forecasted.
“It’s a place I love to ride at first of all, like everyone else,” said Miller at the pre-event press conference. “I think it’s one of the best circuits on the calendar and fortunately for me, it’s my home grand prix. I’m looking forward to getting out there.
“Like the boys said, the weather isn’t going to be ideal, but for me here at Phillip Island there’s no point looking at the forecast. If the wind changes, we’ll have either beautiful sunshine or freezing cold. So, we’ll wait until the morning and make a plan from there.
“Feeling really good, it was a shame about the race in Japan, but we had good pace there. Looking forward to my weekend at home, I’m normally pretty strong and with the form we’ve had this year I think I’ve got a chance of taking it to these guys!”
Miller will endeavour to keep his top Independent Rider honours alive this weekend, as Fabio Quartararo (Petronas SRT Yamaha) looks to secure the accolade.
LCR Honda fill-in Zarco hopeful of keeping racing career alive
Section: Competition
Three-race opportunity could lead to a term in Moto2 next season.
Image: Russell Colvin.
LCR Honda Idemitsu fill-in rider Johann Zarco will take an open mind into today’s opening practices at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, eager to keep his racing career alive as the replacement rider for Takaaki Nakagami.
Zarco parted ways with Red Bull KTM Factory Racing mid-season and was linked to a Yamaha testing role, however, he’s since committed to finishing out 2019 with the factory-supported LCR organisation aboard an RC213V.
“I’m very happy,” Zarco commented. “It’s difficult to fix a target, but I want to clear up all the feelings I got this year, because I had a great first two years in MotoGP. This year has been really complicated – it looked like the MotoGP story was finished.
“But then Lucio [Cecchinello] called me to catch the opportunity to ride in these three races and yes, I’m catching it because it’s maybe my last three races. I took a big risk this summer quitting my contract for 2020, but I realised that racing is what I want to do. So now I have a short future, but I can live it with a lot of intensity.”
With his mind set on a full-time return to racing next season, rather than taking up a test rider contract, Zarco could potentially step back to Moto2 for a year prior to 2021 when the majority of premier class riders are off-contract again. It has also been suggested he could possibly replace Jorge Lorenzo at Repsol Honda, despite the latter being contracted through 2020.
Rea and Bautista lock out the top three in opening night of action.
Image: Supplied.
The first day of action at the Losail International Circuit came to a close with the 2019 Motul FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) class taking to the circuit, with Chaz Davies (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati) hitting the top spot ahead of Jonathan Rea (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK).
Davies has been twice a winner at Losail and looks like he could be on course to repeat that this weekend, topping the final session of Friday. Davies, who was in the top six for the entirety of the session, hit first with five minutes to go and headed his teammate.
It was a strong session for Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing – Ducati), as the Spaniard looks to finish his rookie season in World Superbike on a high. The 34-year-old was down in seventh after the first session but come the end of FP2, he was up in third.
Having led to the opening session of the weekend, Rea was right back in the mix of things and ready for battle in FP2. The Northern Irishman was in second for the majority of the session and that is where he would finish come the end of proceedings, with the five-time World Superbike champion working solidly on his race pace.
After a difficult opening session, Leon Haslam (Kawasaki Racing Team WorldSBK) was left down in 12th. After a top three performance in FP1, Toprak Razgatliolgu (Turkish Puccetti Racing) set his sights on third place overall in the Championship in the best way possible.
The 23-year-old from Alanya is in a strong position to overhaul those ahead of him in the championship and completed the first day of Qatar action in fourth. There were plenty of other Independent riders inside the top 10, with Sandro Cortese (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) in ninth and Loris Baz (Ten Kate Racing – Yamaha) in 10.
Closely matched in the championship and closely matched after Thursday action, the Pata Yamaha WorldSBK Team duo of Alex Lowes and Michael van der Mark continue to squabble on their last weekend in the same team. Van der Mark had the upper hand and was up in fifth place, whilst Lowes was seventh when the chequered flag came out.
Both are in a fierce battle for third with Toprak Razgatlioglu and will thus need to work together in order to bring Yamaha the bronze medal position. The BMW charge in Qatar was led by 2013 WorldSBK champion Tom Sykes, who spent most of the session down in 15th place, before firing in a good lap time with less than eight minutes to go, putting him in sixth.
Teammate Markus Reiterberger (BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Team) came to the fore and was eighth after day one. The German rider, so far without a ride confirmed on the 2020 grid in WorldSBK, put himself in the shop window at the right time, reminding everyone what he is capable of.
Outside of the top 10 on his final weekend, Marco Melandri (GRT Yamaha WorldSBK) goes into the final two days of his WorldSBK career in 14th, whilst top Honda belonged to Leon Camier (Moriwaki Althea Honda Team) in 17th, now confirmed at Barni Ducati for 2020.
Jules Cluzel (GMT94 Yamaha) went fastest in WorldSSP qualifying, edging out Federico Caricasulo (BARDAHL Evan Bros. WorldSSP Team) and Ayrton Badovini (Team Pedercini Racing).
In WorldSSP300, Manuel Gonzalez (Kawasaki ParkinGO Team) topped practice over Ana Carrasco (Kawasaki Provec WorldSSP300) and Andy Verdoïa (BCD Yamaha MS Racing). Australian Tom Edwards (ParkinGo Team Kawasaki) was ninth fastest.
The final World Supersport session of the day in Qatar kicked off with much drama, as the Championship battle took another turn. Leading the way come the conclusion of the opening day was Jules Cluzel, with a huge advantage over the rest of the field, doing what he needs to do in order to keep his title hopes alive.
There was drama from the off in the 45-minute session, as Randy Krummenacher crashed at Turn 4, running fractionally wide on the exit of the corner and low-siding out. He wasn’t the only crasher in the first third of the session however, as Assen podium finisher Thomas Gradinger tucked the front at the final corner. Moments later, Jaimie van Sikkelerus ran on at Turn 1 but didn’t topple over – the exact same thing happened to the Dutchman in FP1.
Picking up from where he left off in FP1, Jules Cluzel was right in the mix for the leading positions again. The French rider is looking for his first back-to-back wins since Assen and Imola in 2018, in order to have a chance of claiming WorldSSP glory. With a massive 0.7s margin to his rivals, he is the man to beat after ending day one on top. In the final ten minutes, Federico Caricasulo began to show his pace, finishing second.
He’ll be eager to capitalise on the Swiss rider’s bad form of late and pinch the title away from the other side of the garage. Second overall, Caricasulo is in fine form. Continuing to show his promise at the pointy-end of WorldSSP was veteran, Ayrton Badovini. The Italian was as high as second in FP2 and come the end of the day, was up in third.
Coming on leaps and bounds in recent rounds, Isaac Viñales was right up the sharp end of things on Friday. The Spaniard took advantage of his track knowledge from his Moto3 and Moto2 career and put it to good use to finish day one in fourth. Remounting from his crash in the early stages, Randy Krummenacher was back inside the top five with less than five minutes to go in the session.
The Swiss rider was the lowest place of the Championship contenders after the first day of action but that in itself will give him plenty of motivation for Friday and Saturday. Fifth in the end, he has work to do to keep his title lead. Raffaele De Rosa was sixth overall, 0.909s off a rampant Cluzel.
Seventh at the close of business on the opening day went to Lucas Mahias, as the Frenchman dropped away a little bit during the flurry of fast laps at the end of the session. Corentin Perolari was looking in good form in Qatar, as he chases down his first WorldSSP podium after achieving a first pole in Argentina. But from South America to the Middle East, Perolari looks poised for another strong weekend and finished in eighth overall. Two-time Losail winner Kyle Smith was ninth, whilst Hungary’s Peter Sebestyen completed the top ten as top Honda.
World Supersport Standings
Pos
Rider
Points
1
Randy Krummenacher
202
2
Federico Caricasulo
194
3
Jules Cluzel
180
4
Lucas Mahias
143
5
Hikari Okubo
97
6
Raffaele De Rosa
92
7
Thomas Gradinger
86
8
Isaac Vinales
81
9
Corentin Perolari
81
10
Ayrton Badovini
59
11
Peter Sebestyen
54
12
Loris Cresson
41
13
Jules Danilo
36
14
Hannes Soomer
34
15
Kyle Smith
24
16
Hector Barbera
22
17
Federico Fuligni
13
18
Lorenzo Gabellini
10
19
Jack Kennedy
9
20
Glenn Van Straalen
9
21
Rob Hartog
9
22
Jaimie Van Sikkelerus
9
23
Kevin Manfredi
8
24
Brad Jones
7
25
Miquel Pons
6
26
Massimo Roccoli
6
27
Tom Toparis
5
28
Christian Stange
5
29
Maria Herrera
5
30
Gabriele Ruiu
4
31
Luca Ottaviani
4
32
Daniel Valle
3
33
Xavier Navand
1
34
Mattia Casadei
1
WorldSSP300
The WorldSSP300 grid makes history this weekend with their first visit outside of Europe coming at the Motul Qatar Round. The feeder class is set to dazzle under the spotlights of the Losail International Circuit, with Thursday’s opening sessions offering a taste of the action to come. Making his debut at the Qatari venue, it was Manuel Gonzalezwho was once again on top.
The lights of Losail only mean one thing: motorcycle racing is in action! Despite the usual craziness out on circuit, what with riders looking for a slipstream and waiting on the racing line, 2019 WorldSSP300 Champion Manuel Gonzalez thread the eye of the needle to set a good lap time during the middle stages of the session.
Second overall was Ana Carrasco, who used her Moto3 experience to propel her to the silver-medal position. The outgoing WorldSSP300 Champion was over a second clear in FP1 and will look to gain back the advantage going into the rest of the weekend. Completing the top three was Andy Verdoïa, who is still in the battle for second overall in the Championship.
Fourth after the opening day of action was Czech talent, Oliver König, lapping strongly throughout the night to confirm is solid pace at Losail. In fifth place and just fractionally behind him, Dutch rider Dion Otten made it four nationalities inside the top five, as he worked away on his pace. Otten is looking for a good end to the season to go into 2020 well prepared. Filippo Rovelli completed the top six and was top Italian after day one, 0.712s behind Gonzalez on top.
Battling for second in the Championship, Portimao race winner Scott Deroue was only seventh on his return to action under the floodlights of Losail. He was marginally ahead of fellow countryman Victor Steeman, with the Dutch charge coming from the provision third row. Tom Edwards was ninth and was flew the Australian flag high, whilst just behind, Ukrainian Nick Kalinin completed the top ten just days after announcing his 2020 plans in the WorldSSP300 class.
Vinales motivated by previous Phillip Island success
Section: Competition
Factory Yamaha challenger hoping to replicate 2018 victory.
Image: Supplied.
Maverick Vinales says his previous success at Phillip Island has motivated him to secure victory this weekend at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
The Monster Energy Yamaha rider claimed a thrilling win at the seaside venue in 2018 to end Yamaha’s winning drought, the Spaniard expressing his liking for Phillip Island, which happens to be a circuit that favours the YZR-M1.
“Overall, we had a positive race weekend in Japan, but unfortunately it wasn’t quite enough to be on the podium,” said Vinales.
“Now we are in Australia. I really like the Phillip Island track. I have many great memories of that circuit, and one of them is last year‘s race, when I won the Australian GP, which is very motivating. The team was working very hard, so we’ll try to be strong again this year and once more fight at the front.”
Vinales is ranked fourth in the championship standings, equal on points with third’s Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar).
This will be the 31st Australian Grand Prix, which has been held every year since the first visit in 1989.
The first two Australian Grands Prix were held at Phillip Island before MotoGP visited the Eastern Creek circuit for six successive years, returning to Phillip Island in 1997, which has been its home since. This is the 25th time that the Grand Prix has taken place at Phillip Island.
A total of 72 Grand Prix races for solo motorcycles have been held at Phillip Island since 1989 as follows: MotoGP —17, 500cc –7, Moto2 —9, 250cc –15, Moto3 —7 and 125cc –17.
Since the introduction of the MotoGP class in 2002, Honda have had eight Grand Prix wins in the class at Phillip Island including three victories in 2015 with Marc Marquez, 2016 with Cal Crutchlow and and 2017 with Marquez once again.
Ducati have had four MotoGP wins at Phillip Island, all of them with Casey Stoner from 2007 to 2010.
Andrea Iannone’s third place finish back in 2015 and Andrea Dovizioso’s third place finish last year are the only podium finishes for Ducati at Phillip Island since Stoner’s win in 2010.
Yamaha have won the MotoGP race at Phillip Island on five occasions, three with Valentino Rossi, one with Jorge Lorenzo and one with Maverick Viñales, which was last year. In addition, both Yamaha Factory riders finished on the podium in 2017 in Australia, with Valentino Rossi in second followed by Maverick Viñales. Johann Zarco crossed the line in fourth making it to three Yamaha riders within the top five.
All three podium finishers in the MotoGP race at Phillip Island in 2014 were Yamaha riders, the last all-Yamaha podium in the class so far.
Suzuki have had three podium finishes at Phillip Island in the premier class. 2006 when Chris Vermeulen finished second, 2016 when Maverick Viñales finished third and last year when Andrea Iannone finished second.
The best result for an Aprilia rider in the MotoGP class at Phillip Island is a ninth-place finish with Aleix Espargaro last year. Jeremy McWilliams qualified on pole position in the premier class at Phillip Island in 2000, which is the last pole position for Aprilia to date in the class.
In 2017, Pol Espargaro crossed the line in ninth place at Phillip Island, which is the best result for KTM at this track in the premier class of Grand Prix racing. Espargaro qualified in sixth position, which was the best qualifying result for KTM in the class at the time, a record beaten subsequently at the Americas GP before both Espargaro and then-KTM rider Johann Zarco took front row starts this season.
Valentino Rossi is the rider with most GP wins at Phillip Island with eight (5 x MotoGP, 1 x 500cc, 2 x 250cc) followed by Casey Stoner with six, all in the MotoGP class from 2007 to 2012.
Three other riders have had three GP victories at Phillip Island: Marco Melandri (1 x MotoGP, 1 x 250cc, 1 x 125cc), Jorge Lorenzo (1 x MotoGP, 2 x 250cc) and Marc Marquez (2 x MotoGP, 1x 125cc).
Home riders have taken 10 GP wins at Phillip Island: Casey Stoner (MotoGP from 2007 to 2012), Wayne Gardner (500cc in 1989 and 1990), Mick Doohan (500cc/1998) and Jack Miller (Moto3/2014).
The last Australian rider to finish on the podium at Phillip Island in any of the three classes is Jack Miller who won the Moto3 race in 2014.
Marc Marquez has qualified on pole position for the last five years at Phillip Island, equalling Casey Stoner who did it between 2008 and 2012 at this track.
The nine Moto2 races that have taken place at Phillip Island have been won by seven different riders: Alex De Angelis (2010 and 2011), Pol Espargaro (2012 and 2013), Maverick Viñales (2014), Alex Rins (2015), Tom Lüthi (2016), Miguel Oliveira (2017) and Brad Binder (2018).
The seven Moto3 races that have taken place at Phillip Island have been won by six different riders: Sandro Cortese (2012), Álex Rins (2013), Jack Miller (2014), Miguel Oliveira (2015), Brad Binder (2016), Joan Mir (2017) and Albert Arenas (2018).
The 14th place finisher in the Moto3 race in Phillip Island last year, John McPhee, crossed the line just 0.989 seconds behind race winner Albert Arenas; this is the closest top 14 of all-time in the lightweight class of Grand Prix racing beating the record set in 2017 at the Italian GP (1.524s).
Teenage standout Jett Lawrence in line for S-X Open start
Section: Competition
MEC Futures winner in discussions to line up in Auckland and Melbourne.
Image: Supplied.
High-profile Australian teenage export Jett Lawrence could make a surprise return home for next month’s S-X Open Supercross FIM Oceania Championship in SX2, the possibility of it happening gaining momentum by the day.
Lawrence, 16, starred at the weekend’s Monster Energy Cup (MEC) by dominating the Futures category aboard his Factory Connection Honda CRF250R and his doughnut-eating tactics on the podium set social media alight afterwards.
It’s understood that discussions between Lawrence’s management in the US are ongoing with S-X Open organisers, as well as Honda Australia’s factory team, Penrite Honda Racing – all three associated parties fuelling speculation on social media this week. If a path to move forward on the plan is established, he would contest the Monster Energy S-X Open Auckland and AUS-X Open Melbourne.
For the younger Lawrence sibling, a start in Auckland and Melbourne could mark the beginning of his full-time professional career, with a decision looming on whether or not he will contest the 2020 Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship in one of the 250SX regions with Geico Honda.
“Probably…” Lawrence indicated when questioned post-race at the MEC on whether he will race supercross next year. “We’ll see how my off-season goes and, if it goes well, then yeah, you’ll probably be seeing me at either the first round of East or West.”
Lawrence has been recognised as one of Australia’s brightest young talents for much of this decade alongside now 20-year-old brother Hunter, clinching the 2014 65cc World Championship and transitioning to Europe with his family in 2016.
The Queenslander has gone on to deliver strong results across a variety of championships since, including EMX in Europe and the US amateur circuit after moving to California for 2019. He also entered this year’s final three Pro Motocross rounds, picking up a best moto result of P8 at Unadilla.
After signing a long-term deal with Geico Honda that commenced this year, guest appearances at home would likely see Lawrence join the all-star roster at Penrite Honda Racing in one form or another, which is currently filled with American trio Justin Brayton, Mitchell Oldenburg and Chris Blose alongside South Australian mainstay Brett Metcalfe.
The arrival of Lawrence in the S-X Open series – which double as the final rounds of the Australian Supercross Championship – would be a welcome addition since Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Dean Wilson was injured at the MEC on the weekend. He confirmed earlier today that he’s officially been ruled out of both events.
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