As usual, the weather conditions are very changeable on the Phillip Island circuit at the start of the Australian spring.
20 minutes before Moto1 FP3, a violent but brief downpour drenched the track, but the fairly strong wind today dried it out as the minutes passed.
The MotoGP will therefore begin their first session of the weekend on slick tires under a beautiful blue sky, with an air temperature of 15° and a track at 24°. The wind, always present on the island, blows at 24 km/h.
|
#AustralianGP MotoGP™ |
2016 |
2017 |
| FP1 | 1'40.957 Cal Crutchlow (See here) | 1'29.602 Marc Marquez |
| FP2 |
1'51.958 Hector Barbera (See here) |
|
| FP3 |
1'33.155 Marc Marquez (See here) |
|
| FP4 |
1'36.810 Nicky Hayden (See here) |
|
| Qualification 1 |
1'38.467 Cal Crutchlow (See here) |
|
| Qualification 2 |
1'30.189 Marc Marquez (See here) |
|
| Warm Up |
1'29.897 Marc Marquez (See here) |
|
| Course | Crutchlow, Rossi, Vinales (See here) | |
| All time lap record |
1'27.899 Jorge Lorenzo 2013 |
Most riders use a soft front tire, a medium rear tire, and a fairing without fins.
The session began with Andrea Iannone's wheel locking in the pit lane and the minor fall ofAlvaro Bautista at turn #8 on his launch lap.
Here we go! #MotoGP
Almost an absolute disaster there for #FW29, locking the front in pit lane🙈 #AustralianGP pic.twitter.com/PgaHsAOYjf
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) October 19, 2017
Horrendous start to the weekend for @ 19Bautista, dropping it on the grass at turn 8!! #AustralianGP #RiderOK pic.twitter.com/KHPBi56ZHT
- MotoGP @ 🏁 (@MotoGP) October 20, 2017
Johann zarco takes the lead, achieving 1'31.395 on his third lap, but on the next pass, Marc Márquez lowers the provisional reference to 1'30.192, then 1'30.091 on the next lap.
The Catalan driver continued his momentum and crossed the 1'29 mark, in 1'29.722, two tenths ahead Andrea Dovizioso.
The first run ends with the following hierarchy: Márquez in 1'29.602, Dovizioso, Iannone, Vinales, Crutchlow, Pedrosa, Zarco, Rossi, Lorenzo et Miller.
On resumption, Jack Miller is positioned sixth, while shortly after mid-session Dani Pedrosa et Jorge Lorenzo move up one place.
Hector Barbera minor fall at turn number #9 before Espargaro Pol entered the top 10 in eighth place.
Taking advantage of Marc Márquez's wheel, Andrea Iannone is positioned 2nd before final packaging.
The last minutes chronologically see the convalescent Jack Miller climb to fourth place, Maverick Vinales dispossess him of it, Bradley Smith make it into the top 10, Andrea Dovizioso change to a soft rear tire and return to second position, Johann zarco position yourself 6rd, Marc Márquez try a medium/medium combination, Jack Miller perform the 2nd beat and Johann zarco take it from him!
We notice the gaps are extremely small, no less than 7 drivers standing within a quarter of a second.
#AustralianGP MotoGP FP1 Ranking compiled by our friends at crash.net:
