The second MotoGP free practice session is about to start with a delay due to the FP1 Moto3 red flag this morning. The drivers will therefore set off at 7:20 a.m. French time, and we will be able to see whether the positions in the first classification of the day are confirmed or not.
This is led by Maverick Viñales who proved to be comfortable throughout the session. He seems to be the only one of the Yamaha riders since Johann Zarco, Valentino Rossi and Hafizh Syahrin are eighth, tenth and twelfth on this track which succeeds, in theory, for their machine.
The Spaniard was only a tenth ahead of the three Ducatis of Jack Miller, Danilo Petrucci and Andrea Dovizioso. Replacing the injured Jorge Lorenzo, Álvaro Bautista needed some time to adapt and finished in fourteenth position. Having collected his teammate's machine for the occasion, Karel Abraham had one of his best sessions, finishing ninth. Andrea Iannone, Cal Crutchlow and 2018 World Champion Marc Márquez also felt comfortable, although the latter fell for the nineteenth time this season. His teammate Dani Pedrosa also made a mistake.
Will these results be confirmed in FP2? Answer now!
Here is a summary table of the results compared between 2017 and 2018 on the Phillip Island circuit in MotoGP:
| Phillip Island MotoGP™ | 2017 | 2018 |
| FP1 |
1'29.602 Marc Marquez (see here) |
1'29.952 Maverick Vinales |
| FP2 |
1'29.225 Aleix Espargaro (see here) |
1'29.131 Andrea Iannone |
| FP3 |
1'38.522 Marc Marquez (see here) |
|
| FP4 |
1'29.541 Marc Marquez (see here) |
|
| Qualification 1 |
1'29.346 Valentino Rossi (see here) |
|
| Qualification 2 |
1'28.386 Marc Marquez (see here) |
|
| Warm Up |
1'39.085 Marc Marquez (see here) |
|
| Course |
Marquez, Rossi, Vinales (see here) |
|
| All time lap record |
1'27.899 Jorge Lorenzo 2013 |
It's been a long day in Phillip Island, but the final session of the day is underway?#AustralianGP ?? pic.twitter.com/8W1vlD2nKM
- MotoGP ™ ??? (@MotoGP) 26th October, 2018
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Unlike the Moto3 and Moto2 sessions which have been shortened, MotoGP takes full advantage of its usual 45 minutes. While it's still 16 degrees in the air, the track has dropped two degrees since Moto2 and is now 32 degrees.
Danilo Petrucci established the reference time in 1'31.505, but from the next lap, the times went down and he went from first to ninth place! The drivers absolutely want to get into the top 10 given that tomorrow's weather is uncertain and FP3 might not allow them to progress in the standings. Qualification for Q2 is therefore perhaps decided now.
Alvaro Bautista makes a mistake in turn 6 after ten minutes. In front, Marc Márquez took command in front Andrea Iannone, Andrea Dovizioso, Cal Crutchlow et Maverick Vinales. Alvaro Bautista is sixth despite his fall. He is ahead Franco Morbidelli, Alex Rins, Johann zarco et Pol Espargaro who complete the top 10, just ahead Dani Pedrosa et Valentino Rossi which are eleventh and twelfth.
looks like @marcmarquez93 is on his usual Friday limit finding mission?#AustralianGP ?? pic.twitter.com/kRlLJjTP43
- MotoGP ™ ??? (@MotoGP) 26th October, 2018
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Márquez and Red pull straight into the same corner a few minutes apart, suggesting that there may be something on the track.
Halfway through the session, Iannone took first place and Crutchlow the second in front Márquez, Dovizioso et Casa Particular in Viñales. Then, the top 10 is completed by Kidneys, Baptist, Petrucci, Morbidely et zarco. Pedrosa et Red are still one behind the other in twelfth and thirteenth places. For the moment they are not in Q2.
Crutchlow falls ten minutes from the end and remains on the ground. He moves but lies on his side and doesn't get up. He is evacuated on a stretcher. His teammate Takaaki Nakagami imitates him a few moments later, and gets up.
Red manages to enter the top 10 by taking sixth place and finally finishes tenth, while Danilo Petrucci comes to take the best time ahead Maverick Vinales. It is finally Andrea Iannone which takes the checkered flag. French John Zarco ranks sixth, and his teammate Hafizh Syahrin eleventh.
FP2 ranking:
1 29 Andrea IANNONE ITA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 336.4 1'29.131
2 9 Danilo PETRUCCI ITA Alma Pramac Racing Ducati 338.3 1'29.291 0.160 / 0.160
3 25 Maverick VIÑALES SPA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 335.0 1'29.354 0.223 / 0.063
4 4 Andrea DOVIZIOSO ITA Ducati Team Ducati 340.4 1'29.406 0.275 / 0.052
5 35 Cal CRUTCHLOW GBR LCR Honda CASTROL Honda 341.2 1'29.616 0.485 / 0.210
6 5 Johann ZARCO FRA Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 336.2 1'29.686 0.555 / 0.070
7 93 Marc MARQUEZ SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 337.7 1'29.739 0.608 / 0.053
8 43 Jack MILLER AUS Alma Pramac Racing Ducati 333.7 1'29.838 0.707 / 0.099
9 42 Alex RINS SPA Team SUZUKI ECSTAR Suzuki 333.4 1'29.918 0.787 / 0.080
10 46 Valentino ROSSI ITA Movistar Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 332.4 1'30.133 1.002 / 0.215
11 55 Hafizh SYAHRIN MAL Monster Yamaha Tech 3 Yamaha 332.7 1'30.179 1.048 / 0.046
12 38 Bradley SMITH GBR Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 333.5 1'30.346 1.215 / 0.167
13 26 Dani PEDROSA SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 328.0 1'30.472 1.341 / 0.126
14 44 Pol ESPARGARO SPA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 339.0 1'30.545 1.414 / 0.073
15 19 Alvaro BAUTISTA SPA Ducati Team Ducati 339.3 1'30.734 1.603 / 0.189
16 41 Aleix ESPARGARO SPA Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 335.9 1'30.736 1.605 / 0.002
17 21 Franco MORBIDELLI ITA EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 326.7 1'30.787 1.656 / 0.051
18 30 Takaaki NAKAGAMI JPN LCR Honda IDEMITSU Honda 332.8 1'30.830 1.699 / 0.043
19 17 Karel ABRAHAM CZE Angel Nieto Team Ducati 331.6 1'31.166 2.035 / 0.336
20 10 Xavier SIMEON BEL Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 328.8 1'31.275 2.144 / 0.109
21 12 Thomas LUTHI SWI EG 0,0 Marc VDS Honda 328.8 1'31.539 2.408 / 0.264
22 81 Jordi TORRES SPA Reale Avintia Racing Ducati 331.3 1'31.570 2.439 / 0.031
23 45 Scott REDDING GBR Aprilia Racing Team Gresini Aprilia 326.4 1'32.045 2.914 / 0.475
24 7 Mike JONES AUS Angel Nieto Team Ducati 329.8 1'33.633 4.502 / 1.588
