MotoGP Australia Q1: Fabio Quartararo reassures his fans!

During FP2, the only session which has so far taken place in the dry on the Phillip Island circuit in Australia, Maverick Viñales, Andrea Dovizioso, Cal Crutchlow, Danilo Petrucci, Jack Miller, Marc Márquez, Valentino Rossi, Álex Rins, Franco Morbidelli and Aleix Espargaró proved to be the fastest and, as such, pre-qualified for Q2 at the end of the first day of testing.

With the events that we are experiencing, the second day did not allow this hierarchy to be modified and it is therefore the 11 other drivers (Miguel Oliveira being forfeited today) who make up the rest of the field who will now compete in this postponed qualification.

Among them, fabio quartararo et John Zarco will be particularly followed by French enthusiasts, the first having unfortunately fallen during FP1 and suffering from his left ankle, the second discovering the Honda of the LCR team, but an eye will also be kept on Pol Espargaro, author of great sessions on Saturdays, on Joan mir in full progress, as well as Andrea Iannone, always at ease on this southern route.

A wind still present on the island but much less violent than yesterday, temperatures of 13° in the air and 15° on the ground, a dry track and an overcast but stable sky for the moment, these are the conditions who await the pilots for this first 15-minute selection.

Here are the references available when drivers prepare to hit a cold but grippy track:

Phillip Island MotoGP™	2018	2019
FP1	1'29.952 Maverick Viñales (See here)	1'38.957 Maverick Viñales (See here)
FP2	1'29.131 Andrea Iannone (See here)	1'28.824 Maverick Viñales (See here)
FP3	1'29.714 Marc Márquez (See here)	1'31.338 Maverick Viñales (See here)
FP4	1'29.604 Andrea Iannone (See here)	1'31.185 Marc Márquez (See here)
Q1	1'29.851 Alvaro Bautista (See here)	1'28.949 Fabio Quartararo
Q2	1'29.199 Marc Márquez (See here)
Warm-up	1'29.254 Andrea Iannone (See here)	1'29.396 Maverick Viñales (See here)
Course	Vinales, Iannone, Dovizioso (See here)
All time lap record	1'27.899 Jorge Lorenzo (2013)

Mika Kallio is the quickest to start at the opening of the session, unlike Fabio Quartararo who, as is often the case, sets off last to benefit from a clear track.

All drivers chose a soft/soft tire combination, with the exception of Johann Zarco, Pol Espargaro and Mika Kallio which use a medium front tire.

At the end of the first flying round, it is Fabio Quartararo who turned out to be the fastest, in 1'29.851, a time already half a second faster than what he achieved during the warm-up.

The French driver improved by 3/10 on the next pass, in 1'29.551, ahead Joan Mir, Francesco Bagnaia and Johann Zarco.

When stopping at the box mid-session, the hierarchy is made up of Fabio Quartararo, 5 tenths ahead of Joan Mir, Francesco Bagnaia, Johann Zarco, Pol Espargaró, Mika Kallio, Andrea Iannone, Karel Abraham, Hafizh Syahrin, Jorge Lorenzo and Tito Rabat.

On resumption, fabio quartararo lights up the first sectors in red and records a spectacular time of 1'28.947! He takes in his wheel Andrea Iannone who took advantage of the situation to climb to second position.

Hafiz Syahrin minor fall at turn number two, Mika Kallio at number one.

Q1 standings for the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island:

Classification credit: MotoGP.com