Marcel Schrötter and Brad Binder took turns dominating and finishing second during the first two free practice sessions. In FP1, it was first of all the German who led in front of the South African, before the positions were reversed in FP2. They therefore seem to be the two strong men of the weekend and we will see if FP3 confirms these positions.
Just behind them are the two Championship leaders, Francesco Bagnaia and Miguel Oliveira, in fourth and fifth positions each time. So many similarities between two sessions are rare, while third place went first to Mattia Pasini in the morning then to Iker Lecuona in the afternoon.
All these drivers as well as their opponents will enter the track for their last practice session which will be essential to refine the settings for qualifying. These will be decisive for the race because the title could already be awarded on Sunday if Bagnaia managed to score thirteen points more than Oliveira.
Start of FP3 at 1:55 a.m. French time.
Here is a summary table of the results compared between 2017 and 2018 on the Phillip Island circuit in Moto2:
| Phillip Island Moto2™ | 2017 | 2018 |
| FP1 |
1'33.313 Takaaki Nakagami |
1'33.788 Marcel Schrotter |
| FP2 |
1'33.310 Takaaki Nakagami |
1'33.701 Brad Binder |
| FP3 |
1'33.919 Miguel Oliveira |
1'34.143 Marcel Schrotter |
| Qualification |
1'33.300 Mattia Pasini |
|
| Warm Up |
1'46.620 Francesco Bagnaia |
|
| Course |
Oliveira, Binder, Morbidelli |
|
| All time lap record |
1'32.470 Tito Rabat 2014 |
And we're back here on the Island?# Moto2 hit the track for their FP3 session at the #AustralianGP ?? pic.twitter.com/ZHmM3SpzP7
- MotoGP ™ ??? (@MotoGP) 26th October, 2018
Temperatures have increased very little since Moto3. It's 15 degrees in the air and 18 degrees on the track. This being in mixed conditions, the drivers went out for a scouting lap before almost all returning to the pits.
After ten minutes, there are only thirteen left, including fabio quartararo (Beta Tools – Speed Up Racing). You have to wait a quarter of an hour to see the entire field enter the track and the session really begins.
Niki Tuuli (SIC Racing Team) makes a mistake in front Isaac Viñales (Forward Racing Team) who cannot avoid him and runs over him. The Spaniard is filmed, he got up, however we have no news from the Finn. The red flag not having been waved, everything suggests that he is fine. A few moments later, it's Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo) who suffered an impressive fall. The South African does a high side and falls at high speed while his motorcycle literally flies into the air! Fortunately, she doesn't fall on him and he gets up immediately.
Halfway through the session, Marcel Schrötter (Dynavolt Intact GP) took command in front Alex Marquez (EG 0,0 Marc VDS), fabio quartararo, Raul Fernandez (Pons HP 40), Mattia Pasini (Italtrans Racing Team), Dominique Aegerter (Kiefer Racing) and Joan mir (EG 0,0 Marc VDS). Afterwards, Jorge Navarro (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2), Steven Odendaal (NTS RW Racing GP) and Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Ajo) complete the top 10.
In the last five minutes, Olive tree rises to second place, whileagitated is placed just behind, in third position. bagnaia is only eighteenth. No one is able to improve the best time which therefore comes down to Marcel Schrötter, very comfortable from the start.
FP3 ranking:
1 23 Marcel SCHROTTER GER Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex 284.2 1'34.143
2 73 Alex MARQUEZ SPA EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex 282.6 1'34.375 0.232 / 0.232
3 44 Miguel OLIVEIRA POR Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM 282.7 1'34.644 0.501 / 0.269
4 40 Augusto FERNANDEZ SPA Pons HP40 Kalex 282.5 1'34.660 0.517 / 0.016
5 77 Dominique AEGERTER SWI Kiefer Racing KTM 282.0 1'34.698 0.555 / 0.038
6 22 Sam LOWES GBR Swiss Innovative Investors KTM 281.9 1'34.748 0.605 / 0.050
7 54 Mattia PASINI ITA Italtrans Racing Team Kalex 283.9 1'34.753 0.610 / 0.005
8 20 Fabio QUARTARARO FRA MB Conveyors – Speed Up Speed Up 283.0 1'34.781 0.638 / 0.028
9 97 Xavi VIRGIN SPA Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex 281.1 1'34.809 0.666 / 0.028
10 2 Jesko RAFFIN SWI SAG Team Kalex 274.3 1'34.939 0.796 / 0.130
11 10 Luca MARINI ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 Kalex 286.3 1'34.961 0.818 / 0.022
12 87 Remy GARDNER AUS Tech 3 Racing Tech 3 282.5 1'35.009 0.866 / 0.048
13 36 Joan MIR SPA EG 0,0 Marc VDS Kalex 280.5 1'35.055 0.912 / 0.046
14 62 Stefano MANZI ITA Forward Racing Team Suter 276.7 1'35.057 0.914 / 0.002
15 5 Andrea LOCATELLI ITA Italtrans Racing Team Kalex 279.5 1'35.189 1.046 / 0.132
16 4 Steven ODENDAAL RSA NTS RW Racing GP NTS 276.9 1'35.222 1.079 / 0.033
17 45 Tetsuta NAGASHIMA JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Kalex 278.1 1'35.330 1.187 / 0.108
18 42 Francesco BAGNAIA ITA SKY Racing Team VR46 Kalex 280.9 1'35.403 1.260 / 0.073
19 27 Iker LECUONA SPA Swiss Innovative Investors KTM 282.1 1'35.408 1.265 / 0.005
20 9 Jorge NAVARRO SPA Federal Oil Gresini Moto2 Kalex 280.9 1'35.536 1.393 / 0.128
21 7 Lorenzo BALDASSARRI ITA Pons HP40 Kalex 280.3 1'35.773 1.630 / 0.237
22 57 Edgar PONS SPA MB Conveyors – Speed Up Speed Up 275.5 1'35.931 1.788 / 0.158
23 89 Khairul Idham PAWI MAL IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia Kalex 281.3 1'35.957 1.814 / 0.026
24 67 Bryan STARING AUS Tech 3 Racing Tech 3 276.9 1'35.969 1.826 / 0.012
25 16 Joe ROBERTS USA NTS RW Racing GP NTS 281.3 1'36.101 1.958 / 0.132
26 24 Simone CORSI ITA Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 Kalex 276.7 1'36.448 2.305 / 0.347
27 41 Brad BINDER RSA Red Bull KTM Ajo KTM 282.5 1'36.785 2.642 / 0.337
28 95 Jules DANILO FRA Nashi Argan SAG Team Kalex 277.1 1'37.036 2.893 / 0.251
29 21 Federico FULIGNI ITA Tasca Racing Scuderia Moto2 Kalex 275.2 1'37.117 2.974 / 0.081
30 32 Isaac VIÑALES SPA Forward Racing Team Suter 276.4 1'37.225 3.082 / 0.108
31 18 Xavi CARDELUS AND Marinelli Snipers Team Kalex 276.9 1'37.788 3.645 / 0.563
66 Niki TUULI FIN Petronas Sprinta Racing Kalex
