It’s a Maverick Vinales to the smile glimpsed in Buriram who was taking stock of his Saturday in Australia. It must be said that the Phillip Island track has not disappointed him since 2016, since the podium awaits him at the finish of the Australian Grand Prix. A consistency which could be confirmed tomorrow Sunday, since the Yamaha official finds himself second on the starting grid…
Stuck between a Marc Marquez in pole position for the fifth time on the land of a Stoner that he has just equalized in performance, and a Johann zarco on the front row for the second consecutive time since last weekend in Japan, the teammate of Valentino Rossi comments: “ I'm happy with the way things are going at the moment. The front of the bike is good and that's important here ».
« We'll see what the race has in store for us. I will do my best, as always. We will have to choose between two types of rubber, very similar. I don't know yet which will be the best. A lot of riders seem to be able to ride in front, but on a circuit where the bike counts less than the rider, I can ride in front ».
He finishes : " our lap times are good, we have really worked a lot for the race, we know our potential, so we will push as much as possible and we will see. There are three or four of us who can play for victory. However, Andrea Iannone seems to have an advantage going into the start with new tires ».
His teammate Valentino Rossi qualified seventh and the Iannone feared at the start will start fourth.
Australian Grand Prix, Phillip 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 |
