The border between a successful day and another failed one was only 46 thousandths to one Valentino Rossi who started his Australian Grand Prix. This is the gap that separates it from a Syharin equipped with the Yamaha Tech3. But the Malaysian is eleventh while the Iwata official is in the top 10 which automatically puts him in the qualifying final. A tiny difference with big consequences since the weather tomorrow, Saturday, promises to be less lenient than that of this Friday...
However, there is nothing to brag about, and this accessit seems very modest compared to the issue in which the Doctor is embroiled: the place of dauphin of Marc Marquez in the general classification! An unusual situation that the man from Tavullia comments as follows: “ this Friday we worked on the bike and the tires, because here at Phillip Island it is always difficult to find the right balance. I was lucky because I was able to stay in the top 10, which is good and important because the forecast for tomorrow is not good. We have to keep balancing the bike because our pace is not fantastic ».
Adhesion difficulties and weight distribution bother the teammate of a Casa Particular in Viñales who did better than him, by subscribing in the top 5: “ we had to work differently this year, because this time the medium rubber didn't work. In the end I put the software on and it wasn't so bad. I improved, I could run in a small 1'30. I should have put in another one, but I decided not to stop because I was fifth. Then I slipped to tenth, but luckily I was in the top ten. I took a riske ”.
He insists : " my pace is nothing special, we have to work on balancing the bike and making the right tire choice. Our situation is quite similar to that of Motegi ". He ends with an observation on the Suzukis, to better support Yamaha’s head… “ they are better at electronics and acceleration. And the engine power development is very smooth. They have done a lot of work and improved a lot from 2017. Our bike feels more stable, but the Suzuki is maneuverable and agile ».
We will recall that it is Valentino Rossi is the competing driver with the most achievements on the Phillip Island track with eight outright successes. Five in MotoGP, one in 500, and two in 250. It has now been 25 Grands Prix since Yamaha has won anything. Never before seen in the history of the brand in the premier category.
Australian Grand Prix, Phillip Island, MotoGP: times.
| 1 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | Suzuki | 1'29.131 | ||
| 2 | 9 | Danilo Petrucci | Ducati | 1'29.291 | 0.160 | 0.160 |
| 3 | 25 | Maverick Vinales | Yamaha | 1'29.354 | 0.223 | 0.063 |
| 4 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Ducati | 1'29.406 | 0.275 | 0.052 |
| 5 | 35 | Cal Crutchlow | Honda | 1'29.616 | 0.485 | 0.210 |
| 6 | 5 | Johann zarco | Yamaha | 1'29.686 | 0.555 | 0.070 |
| 7 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 1'29.739 | 0.608 | 0.053 |
| 8 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 1'29.838 | 0.707 | 0.099 |
| 9 | 42 | alex rins | Suzuki | 1'29.918 | 0.787 | 0.080 |
| 10 | 46 | Valentino Rossi | Yamaha | 1'30.133 | 1.002 | 0.215 |
| 11 | 55 | Hafiz Syahrin | Yamaha | 1'30.179 | 1.048 | 0.046 |
| 12 | 38 | Bradley Smith | KTM | 1'30.346 | 1.215 | 0.167 |
| 13 | 26 | Dani Pedrosa | Honda | 1'30.472 | 1.341 | 0.126 |
| 14 | 44 | Espargaro Pol | KTM | 1'30.545 | 1.414 | 0.073 |
| 15 | 19 | Alvaro Bautista | Ducati | 1'30.734 | 1.603 | 0.189 |
| 16 | 41 | Alex Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'30.736 | 1.605 | 0.002 |
| 17 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Honda | 1'30.787 | 1.656 | 0.051 |
| 18 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda | 1'30.830 | 1.699 | 0.043 |
| 19 | 17 | Karel Abraham | Ducati | 1'31.166 | 2.035 | 0.336 |
| 20 | 10 | Xavier Simeon | Ducati | 1'31.275 | 2.144 | 0.109 |
| 21 | 12 | Thomas luthi | Honda | 1'31.539 | 2.408 | 0.264 |
| 22 | 81 | Jordi Torres | Ducati | 1'31.570 | 2.439 | 0.031 |
| 23 | 45 | Scott Redding | Aprilia | 1'32.045 | 2.914 | 0.475 |
| 24 | 7 | Mike Jones | Ducati | 1'33.633 | 4.502 | 1.588 |
