MotoGP has arrived at Phillip Island, but so has the weather.
It was the Thursday’s biggest talking point, with the forecast pointing to more over the weekend, just as the title fight enters its critical phase, with three races to go and two points splitting the two championship favourites.
But the race itself is enough to get the paddock excited after a three-year absence from Australia, and at least for now, with everyone starting the weekend from zero, the overriding feeling is that the paddock is just happy to be back.
Let’s see if that lasts through the first day of competitive action.
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SVG cuts interview short to throw up | 00:48
PRACTICE REPORT
Flying Frenchman Johann Zarco clocked the quickest time in the first free practice session at the Australian Grand Prix Friday, with MotoGP championship leader Fabio Quartararo 12th.
With recent torrential rain clearing to a cool but fine morning at Phillip Island, Zarco blitzed the picturesque circuit with a best lap of one minute and 30.368 seconds.
Hometown hero Jack Miller, the form rider who has earned more points than anyone else in the recent triple-header of races, made it a Ducati one-two, ending 0.091secs behind.
Alex Marquez on a Honda was third ahead of Suzuki’s Alex Rins. Frenchman Quartararo, the reigning world champion, has scored only eight points from the last three races on his Yamaha to send the title race to the wire with three grand prix left.
He holds a slim two-point lead in the standings from Italian Francesco Bagnaia on a Ducati, with both riders on Thursday saying the championship was “just beginning”.
Quartararo was 12th and Bagnaia eighth.
After 17 grand prix, five riders are within 40 points at the top of the title race with Spain’s Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), Italian Enea Bastianini (Ducati) and Miller all still in contention.
Espargaro was fifth fastest and Bastianini sixth.
Six-time world champion Marc Marquez, a three-time winner at Phillip Island, held the fastest lap for much of the session but eventually came seventh.
Top times:
1. Johann Zarco (FRA/Ducati-Pramac) 1min 30.368sec,
2. Jack Miller (AUS/Ducati) at 0.091,
3. Alex Marquez (ESP/Honda) 0.125,
4. Alex Rins (ESP/Suzuki) 0.143,
5. Aleix Espargaro (ESP/Aprilia) 0.319,
6. Enea Bastianini (ITA/Ducati-Gresini) 0.422, 7. Marc Marquez (ESP/Honda) 0.529, 8. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA/Ducati) 0.709, 9. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA/Ducati Gresini) 0.719, 10. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA/Ducati-VR46) 0.798.
TRACK FLOODED BY HEAVY THURSDAY RAIN
Rain lashed Phillip Island throughout Thursday — a lot of rain.
Parts of the iconic circuit were underwater all day, and the car tunnel crossing beneath the front straight had to be pumped several times to ensure circuit traffic could continue to flow.
Conditions were, to put it bluntly, unrideable.
Rain has eased overnight, but rain is still in the air, and the forecast is for the worst of it to arrive at around midday and continue until the evening, albeit in less biblical quantities.
Will it be dry enough for anyone to brace the conditions? And even if it is dry enough, will anyone want to take the risk given the high winds and given the rest of the weekend is forecast to be dry? Although the Bureau of Meteorology now predicts a small chance of rain on Sunday as well …
RIDERS EXCITED TO RETURN TO UNIQUE PHILLIP ISLAND
But come rain or shine — probably rain, let’s be honest — there isn’t a single rider in MotoGP who isn’t excited to be back Down Under.
Phillip Island is a rider favourite for its throwback configuration, and none needed much an excuse to wax lyrical about the weekend ahead of them.
“This is one of my favourite tracks and I think for everybody’s it’s the same, because it’s wonderful to race here,” Francesco Bagnaia said. “The layout of the track is incredible because it’s a true old-style layout. You have to be very precise; it’s very technical. When a track has fast corners, it’s always great.
“I feel always happy when I come here because it’s a race weekend but you feel with less pressure, you feel more relaxed in this place.”
Aleix Espargaró, who predicts the layout will suit his Aprilia, said it was pure speed that excited him about the Island.
“For me the super-high average speed gives you an insane level of emotions, of adrenaline, and it’s unique in the world,” he said. “I can’t wait to try the 22 Aprilia here in Phillip Island because in the fast tracks this year the bike’s been very, very competitive.
“Many tracks where you don’t really use the brakes the bike is very competitive, so I think on this track the bike will work very good and I can’t wait to try it, because it’s a place where you normally enjoy the riding. I can’t wait.”
Quartararo, whose Yamaha is historically one of the better bikes to ride here, said there’s no track like it on the calendar.
“The place is quite unique,” he said. “Really fast corners. Turn 3, turns 7, 8, 9, the last corner — it’s really fast, and I think that’s why we like it.”
But home hero Jack Miller summed it up best.
“It’s Australia, so of course it’s great!” he said — though there was more to it than that.
“It’s so unique and special, and you have to use so much of the track. That’s one of those things that you never lose, how you can ride around here with those elevation changes, going up over Lukey Heights, especially on these 300 horsepower monsters where you’re constantly trying to keep the rear in control and you’re fighting the thing to change directions.
“That’s what gives you the emotion more than anything. You ride the bike around this track — you really need to force it for everything you do, and I think as a rider when you’re doing all these inputs, it’s like a dance.”
JOHANN ZARCO HEADLINES MILLER’S TOWNSVILLE WEDDING
Jack Miller reckons Johann Zarco could have a lucrative post-racing career as a wedding singer after lighting up the reception for his nuptials.
Miller tied the knot with his now wife, Ruby, in Townsville last weekend in an event well attended by the MotoGP paddock, a testament to the Aussie’s undeniable popularity.
But once the formalities were done, it was Johann Zarco who took centre stage, his Ducati stablemate belting out a cover of Les Innocents’ L’autre Finistére complete with changed lyrics for the happy couple.
“Fantastic,” Miller reviewed on Thursday at Phillip Island. “We managed to slot him in — I managed to save a little bit on the old wedding singer, so that was decent too!
“He does a good job actually. I think he might have a plan sorted for after racing.”
Miller said after being locked out of Australia and the eastern hemisphere so long made the wedding all the sweeter.
“Up until about Tuesday it took me to recover, but we made it down here, so that’s a positive!” he said.
“It’s an amazing point for me and us in our life.
“And also to be able to break it up into these races back on this side of the world finally has been nice to get a lot of the team there and a lot of my friends and family [and] friends in the paddock to come across.
“It was awesome.”
QUARTARARO DENIES WET WEATHER CONCERNS
Fabio Quartararo says he’s not concerned the high chance of rain through the weekend could undo his chances to capitalise on what should be a strong Yamaha circuit.
Rain is predicted to interrupt all of Friday’s running, and the latest forecast suggests there could also be showers around on Sunday for the race.
Quartararo is coming off the back of his worst result of the season in Thailand, where he linked rain for arriving shortly before the race started for him being shuffled back from fourth on the grid to outside the points.
The title leader denied rain was the cause though, saying it was a specific problem that triggered his demise and that anyway he has a strong record in the wet.
“Actually I’m not really worried. We know what happened and we are ready if it rains,” he said.
“This year in every wet-condition [session] … I was feeling good. We clearly had a mistake in Thailand.
“I expected much, much better race of course. We made a mistake form the beginning starting from really high [tire] pressure.
“At the end of the race of course it was tough. I took the decision not to talk to the media — I apologise to all the people that were in Thailand. It was especially tough feeling. It was a tough one.”
Quartararo said he was expecting to be competitive this weekend at a circuit he likes, though he refused to get ahead of himself given his unpredictable season.
“It’s pretty funny because at the beginning of the year we said when we arrived at Barcelona [and] Mugello they were going to be a tough tracks, but actually we took 45 points out of 50,” he said. “Every track we say is going to be okay, we make something strange. Actually I don’t really see good track, bad track; I think for everybody it’s the same.
“I think we have to think race by race, and I think this one can be a good one for us. It’s one of my favourite tracks, actually. Really fast.
“I’m really looking forward to being here again.”
HOW CAN I WATCH IT?
Every practice, qualifying and race of the 2022 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix is live and ad-break free during racing on Kayo and Fox Sports 506.
Friday
Moto3 first practice: 9am (AEDT)
MotoGP first practice: 9:55am
Moto2 first practice: 10:55am
Moto3 second practice: 1:15pm
MotoGP second practice: 2:10pm
Moto2 second practice: 3:10pm
Saturday
Moto3 third practice: 9am
MotoGP third practice: 9:55am
Moto2 third practice: 10:55am
Moto3 qualifying: 12:35pm
MotoGP fourth practice: 1:30pm
MotoGP qualifying: 2:10pm
Moto2 qualifying: 3:10pm
Sunday — live from the paddock at 8:45am
Moto3 warm-up: 9am (AEDT)
Moto2 warm-up: 9:20am
MotoGP warm-up: 9:40am
Moto3 race: 11am
Moto2 race: 12:20pm
MotoGP race: 2pm
