MotoGP Australia FP1 LIVE: Johann Zarco in front of the local hero!

It is indisputable, and very visible on our graph, the curve of fabio quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) in the MotoGP World Championship has drastically changed trend at Assen, suddenly going from sustained verticality to very moderate growth. Coincidence or not, that of Francis Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has taken on the appearance of a missile launch since exactly the same moment, and now appears on the verge of achieving its objective of crossing that of the French reigning world champion at Phillip Island, barring a reversal situation in Australia.

Dance what contexts, Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia Racing), long on the heels of the Yamaha rider, seems to be having difficulty taking advantage of the situation and is even threatened in the long term by two Ducati riders who are back in good form, Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) and Jack Miller (Ducati Lenovo Team), with the result that the five men are tied at 40 points, with 75 units still in play.

Francis Bagnaia is only two points away from a fabio quartararo consequently forced to a reset, but Jack Miller will also be in the spotlight this weekend, as he will ride the factory Ducati for the first time on his home turf and is the one who has scored the most points in the last three races combined, not even to mention her very recent marriage!

Everything therefore remains open for these five men, with the only certainty that the right to error is no longer appropriate for any of them...

For victory, the other name that comes to mind is obviously that of Marc Márquez, whose return continues to take shape with a little music from Jaws. Is it still too early? Is it just soon enough? Physically, Phillip Island is a smooth circuit, theoretically easier to master when you're not quite at 100% yet, and it's a circuit that turns left, as if it were tailor-made for the king counterclockwise circuits, Marc Márquez, the latest winner in 2019.

 

 

We will also note the return of Joan mir and the third appearance of Tetsuta nagashima, replacing Takaaki Nakagami still convalescing, but also the weather, generally cool, windy and unsettled, which remains the other big question mark for this weekend in the southern lands. After several weeks of rain, the forecast now anticipates... cool, windy and unsettled weather.

 

 

While waiting to discover more about the route without major braking and whose records date back almost 10 years, let's take advantage of these few live moments thanks to the official website MotoGP.com as the 24 drivers prepare for this first 45-minute free practice session on an almost dry track, with temperatures of 15° in the air and 17° on the ground under a beautiful sun:

 

Phillip Island MotoGP™	2019	2022
FP1	1'38.957 Maverick Viñales (See here)	1'30.368 Johann Zarco (See here)
FP2	1'28.824 Maverick Viñales (See here)	(See here)
FP3	1'31.338 Maverick Viñales (See here)	(See here)
FP4	1'31.185 Marc Márquez (See here)	(See here)
Q1	1'28.949 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	(See here)
Q2	1'28.492 Maverick Viñales (See here)	(See here)
Warm up	1'29.396 Maverick Viñales (See here)	(See here)
Course	M. Márquez, Crutchlow, Miller (See here)	(See here)
All time lap record	1'27.899 Jorge Lorenzo (2013)

 

When the red lights go out... Tetsuta Nagashima rushes first, Cal Crutchlow good last.

 

 

Everyone is on slick tires despite a few patches of humidity where a few minutes ago there were still a few rills due to the night's rain. For the most part, medium rear/soft front.

At the end of the first flying round, it is Pol Espargaro which turns out to be the fastest in 1'35.166 while fabio quartararo gets a little scare.

 

 

Curiously, the Honda driver's time did not improve on the next pass, and we had to wait until the third flying lap to see fabio quartararo achieve 1'33.083 while a wallaby crosses the track.

 

 

His time is ultimately canceled, but, after an interlude of Miguel Oliveira, the French driver achieves 1'32.318.

Pol Espargaro regains the advantage in 1'31.983 in front Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio Quartararo and Marc Marquez on the fifth flying lap, then the rookie driver of the VR46 registered 1'31.582 ahead Alex Rins.

The Devil lowers the benchmark to 1'31.474 then 1'31.362 in its eighth and ninth flying laps, while most of the drivers return to their box to take an initial inventory.

 

 

After this first run, we find Fabio Quartararo 2/10 ahead Marco Bezzecchi and Alex Rins, Pol Espargaró, Maverick Viñales, Miguel Oliveira, Jorge Martin, Alex Márquez, Marc Márquez, Aleix Espargaró, Jack Miller, Enea Bastianini, Fabio Di Giannantonio, all in the same second, then Johann Zarco, Franco Morbidelli, Remy Gardner, Joan Mir, Cal Crutchlow, Francesco Bagnaia, Brad Binder, Darryn Binder, Raul Fernández, Luca Marini and Tetsuta Nagashima.

On resumption, Marc Márquez produced his effort and positioned himself second, only 44/1000 behind the official Yamaha.

 

 

He then continued his effort and scored 1'30.897 at the top of the table, benefiting from his brother's focus!

Appearance of saddle fins in the Honda box…

 

 

As the last quarter of an hour approaches, Pol I will espargaro confirms the good performance of the Tokyo machines by positioning itself second behind its leader while one of the locals of the stage, Jack Miller, points the tip of his nose around third position.

Four minutes from the checkered flag, Jack Miller delights the crowd by clocking 1'30.561 with a soft rear tire!

 

 

Johann zarco then jumped to second position before having to concede it to ÁLex Rins, also equipped with a soft rear tire.

Things come to a head in the last minute, and it's finally Johann zarco who achieved the best time in 1'30.368, to the great dismay of the spectators and the young groom!

 

 

Finally, Johann Zarco, Jack Miller, Alex Márquez, Alex Rins, Aleix Espargaró, Enea Bastianini, Marc Márquez, Francesco Bagnaia, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi are currently prequalified for Q2.

 

 

MotoGP Australian Grand Prix FP1 results at Phillip Island:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com