All of this qualifying at Phillip Island were not reassuring about the progress made by Ducati on the Australian track. A circuit which is still not one of the favorites of the Desmosedici. Last year, DesmoDovi took eleventh place, 1.11s behind poleman Marc Marquez. Here he is ninth, but 1.3s this year. Certainly, the conditions were special. But still…
Otherwise Petrucci is right in front of him while Miller points sixth with his big heart. Dovizioso takes stock of the situation: “ qualifying was bad. The conditions were complicated. We weren't there at the right time. Finally, Rossi is on the same line as us and that is important ". By specifying this, Dovizioso signals the objective, which is to defend his second place in the championship. Which does not mean aiming for victory…
« We have progressed since last year, but definitely not enough. We remain too slow at the apex of the turn. What happens to us will be useful for testing this winter. It's not really a cold shower. We are closer to the fastest here. But both Iannone, Marquez and Vinales have an advantage over us. I don't know if I would have a chance to ride with them ».
He finishes : " As always, you will have to manage your rear tire, but it will be more difficult here. We will watch Rossi because it is a good track for him and the Yamaha always behaves well there ».
Release of the Q.2, the second official Ducati entrusted to Baptist due to the package Lorenzo is twelfth after a few adventures…
Australian Grand Prix, Philipp Island, MotoGP J.2: times.
| 1 | 93 | Marc Márquez | Honda | 1'29.199 | ||
| 2 | 25 | Maverick VIÑALES | Yamaha | 1'29.509 | 0.310 | 0.310 |
| 3 | 5 | johann zarco | Yamaha | 1'29.705 | 0.506 | 0.196 |
| 4 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'29.712 | 0.513 | 0.007 |
| 5 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'30.026 | 0.827 | 0.314 |
| 6 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 1'30.140 | 0.941 | 0.114 |
| 7 | 46 | Valentino ROSSI | Yamaha | 1'30.270 | 1.071 | 0.130 |
| 8 | 9 | Danilo PETRUCCI | Ducati | 1'30.328 | 1.129 | 0.058 |
| 9 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'30.519 | 1.320 | 0.191 |
| 10 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | 1'30.593 | 1.394 | 0.074 |
| 11 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 1'30.640 | 1.441 | 0.047 |
| 12 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 1'32.367 | 3.168 | 1.727 |
| Q1 Results: | ||||||
| Q2 | 19 | Alvaro BAUTISTA | Ducati | 1'29.851 | ||
| Q2 | 44 | Pol Espargaró | KTM | 1'30.105 | 0.254 | 0.254 |
| 13 | 17 | Karel ABRAHAM | Ducati | 1'30.174 | 0.323 | 0.069 |
| 14 | 30 | Takaaki NAKAGAMI | Honda | 1'30.452 | 0.601 | 0.278 |
| 15 | 21 | Frank MORBIDELLI | Honda | 1'30.518 | 0.667 | 0.066 |
| 16 | 38 | Bradley SMITH | KTM | 1'30.646 | 0.795 | 0.128 |
| 17 | 10 | Xavier SIMEON | Ducati | 1'30.679 | 0.828 | 0.033 |
| 18 | 26 | Dani PEDROSA | Honda | 1'30.770 | 0.919 | 0.091 |
| 19 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'30.911 | 1.060 | 0.141 |
| 20 | 12 | Thomas LUTHI | Honda | 1'30.958 | 1.107 | 0.047 |
| 21 | 81 | Jordi TORRES | Ducati | 1'31.141 | 1.290 | 0.183 |
| 22 | 45 | Scott REDDING | Aprilia | 1'31.309 | 1.458 | 0.168 |
| 23 | 7 | Mike JONES | Ducati | 1'32.639 | 2.788 | 1.330 |
