Sunday MotoGP
A fifth different winner in a row, anyone? Raul Fernandez served it up for us with a flawless Phillip Island display to clinch his debut MotoGP victory in style, while also handing Trackhouse MotoGP Team their first win in the class too. Every team on the grid has now won a MotoGP Grand Prix.
Meanwhile, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) came through from P10 on the grid to finish second, 1.4s away from Fernandez, while Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) passed Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) late on to climb onto the podium despite his double Long Lap penalty.
Every start is crucial, but today’s was more so for Bezzecchi. And he got a flyer from the middle of the front row. The holeshot was the Italian’s and slotting into an early P2 was Fernandez, with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), and it was those three who built up an early 0.6s lead over a chasing pack that was led by Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP).
Bezzecchi got the notification of his double Long Lap penalty on Lap 2, but he didn’t take it straight away. The clear tactic was to try and build as much of a gap as possible before diving into the Long Lap loop, and on Lap 3, he continued. Meanwhile, Acosta overtook Fernandez at Turn 1 to grab P2, with Bezzecchi’s lead up to 1.1s at the start of Lap 4, and then again, he continued without taking his first Long Lap.
Right then, Lap 5 it was. The first of two Long Laps was taken, and it dropped him behind Fernandez and Acosta. The first Long Lap cost the Italian around two seconds, as further back, two crashes unfolded in quick succession – first Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) at Turn 1, and then Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) – the home hero – at Turn 6. That was a real shame for the Aussie fans and Miller after a fantastic weekend.
Back on track, Bezzecchi served his second Long Lap, which dropped him behind fifth place Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), leaving the Sprint winner 2.8s off the lead. And the leader was now Fernandez, who was 1.1s clear of Acosta.
In turn, Acosta was 1.3s clear of third place Marquez, as Di Giannantonio carved his way past Quartararo for P4 on Lap 8. Bezzecchi was next to latch onto the rear tyre of the Yamaha star, and this felt like a crucial stage of the Grand Prix if Bezzecchi was to go on and win. And sure enough, Bezzecchi got a good bit of drive out of the final corner on Lap 10 to breeze past Quartararo, moving the #72 up to P5.
On Lap 13, Fernandez’s lead was 1.4s over Acosta, as the latter began to come under pressure from Marquez. At this stage, Bezzecchi remained in P5, half a second behind Di Giannantonio, four seconds away from Fernandez.
Lap 16 saw Marquez make his move on Acosta. The gap to Fernandez was now up to three seconds though and on the last time around, the Grand Prix leader was faster than all of the chasers. And the same can be said for the next lap too. 11 laps to go, was Fernandez’s lead enough?
With eight to go, it looks like it probably would be. The lead was still hovering around the three second mark, as Di Giannantonio passed Acosta for P3. With six to go, Bezzecchi pounced at Turn 8 to shove his way past Acosta into P4, but by this stage, the Italian was five seconds adrift of his fellow Aprilia star. Fernandez was still 2.8s clear of Marquez, who was now having trouble from behind with Di Giannantonio swarming.
And just like Bezzecchi did on Acosta, Di Giannantonio put a classy, brave move on Marquez to grab P2. Did the Italian have anything in the last four laps to give Fernandez something to worry about for the win?
Three to go. The gap? 2.8s. On the next lap? 2.6s. It was coming down, but nowhere near at the rate of knots needed if you were Diggia. In the podium fight, Bezzecchi had reeled in Marquez to set up a grandstand finish for P3, and on the penultimate lap at Turn 10, Bezzecchi lunged into P3.
Last lap at Phillip Island! Fernandez’s lead was 1.8s, then 1.6s through split two, but this was the Spaniard’s debut MotoGP win in the bag. Back-to-back Sprint podiums, and now, a MotoGP Grand Prix winner. Take a bow, Raul Fernandez. What a ride from the #25 to hand himself and Trackhouse a dream victory, and he made it look pretty easy as well, didn’t he?
Di Giannantonio strung together a brilliant second half of the Grand Prix to earn P2, and Bezzecchi finished the Grand Prix just 2.4s off the win despite his double Long Lap penalty. And with it, coupled with Francesco Bagnaia’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) late DNF at Turn 6, Bezzecchi moves into P3 in the World Championship.
Marquez had to settle for P4 at the flag and while his wait to secure 2025’s silver medal goes on, surely it’s only a matter of time before the #73 can celebrate that accolade. Acosta held onto P5 by just 0.040s, Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) the rider to come close to beating the KTM star, as Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) led the Yamaha charge in P7.
P8 went to Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), that’s a decent comeback from the South African following his three-place grid penalty, as Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) also enjoyed a solid Sunday after crossing the line in P9. And rounding out the quartet of KTMs in the top 10 was the very, very impressive Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech3). Chapeau to Maverick Viñales’ stand-in.
Quartararo’s Grand Prix didn’t go as planned after the polesitter slipped to P11, as Miguel Oliveira (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) collected the final points in Australia.
2025 Australian MotoGP Results
| 1 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25) | 39m 49.571s |
| 2 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP25) | +1.418s |
| 3 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +2.410s |
| 4 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24) | +3.715s |
| 5 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +7.930s |
| 6 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +7.970s |
| 7 | Alex Rins | SPA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +10.671s |
| 8 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +12.270s |
| 9 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +14.076s |
| 10 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +16.861s |
Moto2 Race
Senna Agius (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) has become the first Australian in Moto2™ history to come out on top Down Under. 12 months on from his first-ever World Championship podium, Agius gave the home crowd plenty to cheer for – and so did the battle behind between David Alonso (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team) and Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team). Although forced to settle for third, the Brazilian took seven points out of Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) with the Spaniard coming home in P7 after a big group battle behind Agius. It’s now just two points that split them overall.
Storming into the lead at Turn 1, home-hero Agius got a dream launch to lead through the opening lap ahead of polesitter Moreira and Championship leader Gonzalez, with the title heavyweights right in contention. Alonso was in fourth ahead of Ayumu Sasaki (RW-Idrofoglia Racing GP) in a closely packed lead group. At the start of Lap 3, Agius went deep at Turn 1, just about holding on to the lead from Moreira, who was then shuffled back to fourth behind Gonzalez and Alonso. Sasaki was next up to have a go at the Brazilian but wasn’t able to make it stick into Miller corner.
At the start of Lap 8, Alonso got through into second ahead of Gonzalez, who now had his chief title rival Moreira right behind him but not for long; the Brazilian got ahead of the Championship leader at Turn 4 and the roles were now reversed. At Turn 10 on Lap 10, Alonso ran wide, allowing Moreira and Gonzalez through into P2 and P3 and the two were now head-to-head, the battle we’d wanted to see now being played out. They were now more than two seconds behind Agius though, with the Australian pulling clear on home soil.
Into the second half of the Grand Prix at Turn 1, Gonzalez slipstreamed his way into second, ahead of Moreira whilst behind, there was chaos as Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) charged through at Turn 4 on Alonso but ran wide. He then got his gloves off with Albert Arenas (ITALJET Gresini Moto2) through Turns 8 – 10. In the title fight, Moreira briefly took P2 out of Gonzalez’s hands on Lap 13 before the Spaniard snatched it back a lap later. Everywhere you looked, battles and friendly fire in the top ten.
Lap 15 and the battled continued to rage, this time Moreira coming through on Gonzalez at Turn 2 and a lap later, the #18 had his hands full of Alonso as the reigning Moto3™ World Champion was knocking on the door of the podium. Dixon was still trying to deal with Arenas, successfully doing so at Turn 10 for fifth place. With six laps to go, Alonso got himself into P3 and wasn’t done there as he pulled the same move at Turn 1 a lap later, now into second. Gonzalez was dropping back, now behind Dixon before being barged out the way by Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team), making a late play for the podium and getting into P4 at the start of Lap 20, ahead of Dixon.
Three laps to go and it was still all to play for; Holgado’s hard work had been undone with a mistake at Turn 2 whilst with Moreira in P3 and Gonzalez P5, the provisional gap between them in the standings would be just four points. The #18 lost another place, this time to a recovering Holgado and was now under attack from Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing).
Last lap time and with Agius clear out front, it was dreamland for the #81. Cruising home, he became the first Australian rider ever in Moto2 history to win their home Grand Prix. Alonso held on for second behind with Moreira making it P3, making serious in-roads into Gonzalez’s Championship lead. Holgado was strong in fourth ahead of Dixon, whilst Baltus took a vital point of Gonzalez to claim sixth. He remains Championship leader but ‘Manugas’ reaction said it all when he returned to the box. Arenas claimed eighth ahead of Aron Canet (Fantic Racing), whilst Sasaki just held off Adrian Huertas (Italtrans Racing Team) for the top ten.
2025 Australian Moto2 Results
| 1 | Senna Agius | AUS | Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) | 35m 00.085s |
| 2 | David Alonso | COL | CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team (Kalex) | +3.684s |
| 3 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) | +3.721s |
| 4 | Daniel Holgado | SPA | CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team (Kalex) | +4.440s |
| 5 | Jake Dixon | GBR | Elf Marc VDS Racing (Boscoscuro) | +4.451s |
| 6 | Barry Baltus | BEL | Fantic Racing (Kalex) | +5.378s |
| 7 | Manuel Gonzalez | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +5.783s |
| 8 | Albert Arenas | SPA | Italjet Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) | +6.922s |
| 9 | Aron Canet | SPA | Fantic Racing (Kalex) | +9.842s |
| 10 | Ayumu Sasaki | JPN | RW – Idrofoglia Racing GP (Kalex) | +11.351s |
Moto3 Race
10 victories in one season? That’ll do just nicely for World Champion Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) after the #99 fended off Australia’s Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) in the fight for victory Down Under. The duo finished an imperious 12 seconds up the road from a podium battle that Alvaro Carpe won, as Red Bull KTM Ajo celebrate winning the Teams’ Championship with both riders on the Phillip Island rostrum.
Despite not leading into Turn 1, polesitter Kelso dived underneath Rueda at Turn 2 to lead the Australian Grand Prix on Lap 1. Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) made good progress to get himself into P3 by Lap 2, as Kelso and Rueda built a second lead over the group for second by the end of the second lap.
Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) made it two Australians in the top four by Lap 3 after setting the fastest lap of the race, before his home Grand Prix ended prematurely at Turn 6 on Lap 4. At the front, Kelso and Rueda were 2.4s clear, as Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) had a huge moment at the final corner. It cost the Spaniard roughly seven seconds as he took a trip through the gravel trap and grass, but he kept his KTM upright – now though, the rider second in the Championship was P24.
On Lap 7, Rueda took the lead for the first time and now, the World Champion and the Aussie were 3.8s up the road. Two laps later, it was 5.6s. Chuck an extra two laps onto that, and it was up to 7.3s. The top two were long gone, with Kelso clinging onto the exhaust of the #99.
The fight for the final podium spot was raging on behind though. Quiles, Carpe, Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing), Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse), Joel Esteban (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team), David Almansa (Leopard Racing) – after completing his Long Lap penalty – and Matteo Bertelle (LEVELUP-MTA) were all jostling for position, with only one – as things stood – able to be on the rostrum.
With five laps to go, Kelso lost a couple of tenths to Rueda but on the next lap, the Aussie dug deep to claw both of those tenths back. And starting the last lap, Kelso had a bit of work to do. The gap over the line was 0.4s, the biggest it’s been all race, so could the home favourite claw the World Champion in?
The answer was no. Rueda showed us why he’s the 2025 World Champion by not putting a wheel wrong all race, but fair play to Kelso for sticking with the #99 for the entire Grand Prix. In the battle for P3, Carpe won out as the Spaniard fended off Esteban and Quiles on the last lap, with Esteban picking up a career-best Moto3 finish while standing in for Dennis Foggia.
Quiles had to settle for P5 as his wait to be crowned Rookie of the Year goes on with Carpe’s return to P3, but it’s a result that sees him close in on Piqueras in the silver medal chase. Fernandez, Lunetta, Furusato and Almansa crossed the line together inside the top nine, with Bertelle finishing just over a second off that group to round out the top 10. Meanwhile, New Zealand’s Cormac Buchanan (DENSSI Racing – BOE) returned to points-scoring ways with a very solid P11.
2025 Australian Moto3 Results
| 1 | Jose Antonio Rueda | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | 33m 39.062s |
| 2 | Joel Kelso | AUS | LEVELUP – MTA (KTM) | +0.829s |
| 3 | Alvaro Carpe | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +12.638s |
| 4 | Joel Esteban | SPA | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +12.696s |
| 5 | Maximo Qulies | SPA | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +12.773s |
| 6 | Adrian Fernandez | SPA | Leopard Racing (Honda) | +13.251s |
| 7 | Luca Lunetta | ITA | SIC58 Squadra Corse (Honda) | +13.753s |
| 8 | Taiyo Furusato | JPN | Honda Team Asia (Honda) | +13.921s |
| 9 | David Almansa | SPA | Leopard Racing (Honda) | +13.979s |
| 10 | Matteo Bertelle | ITA | LEVELUP – MTA (KTM) | +15.294s |
2025 Australian MotoGP News—Saturday
Ducati’s streak comes to an end
Is Ducati’s MotoGP domination coming unstuck. Saturday at Phillip Island suggested so as they failed to put a bike on the front row for the first time since the European GP in 2020 (98 races ago). Then there was the first ever Sprint podium without a single Bologna bike.
“Our project is a great project,” said Fabio Di Giannantonio. “But the other manufacturers are growing faster than us at the moment. So we are in a great position when the bike is working good overall, but there are other manufacturers that they are bringing new pieces and they are working better than us.”
“The concessions are paying off,” said Pol Espargaro. “It’s nice to see Honda guys going fast, some Yamaha guys close to the podium, Pedro fighting for it. It makes that our job really pays off a little bit, and not feel like you are working for nothing.”
Pecco’s woes continue
Pecco Bagnaia’s woes continued apace in Australia with the Italian enduring another woeful Sprint, when he finished 19th, 32s off victor Marco Bezzecchi. Only Michele Pirro, Marc Marquez’s stand in, was slower.
Those stability issues which afflicted him in Indonesia were still present here. “I was a passenger again,” he said. “Just trying to control the shaking. Many times I had to close the gas exiting from the corners, and this is strange.”
The difficulty to understand stems from the bike spec. “Theoretically yes, it’s the same (as the past two rounds). But it was the same also in Indonesia. So it worked just in Motegi in a normal way, and then also in Indonesia started to have some issues that we are still struggling to understand.”
MotoGP Sprint Race
Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) got the initial launch and holeshot but by Turn 2, Fernandez had got his way to the front and led the opening lap. He was ahead of pre-Sprint favorite Bezzecchi, who had extra wings on his Aprilia courtesy of a rather unfortunate encounter with seagulls on the Warm Up Lap. Polesitter Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) had dropped to sixth behind Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) and Acosta, whilst the #37’s teammate, Brad Binder, crashed out at Turn 2 on Lap 1.
As Fernandez and Bezzecchi stretched away in an Aprilia 1-2, the battle was intensifying over P3, with Alex Marquez coming under increasing pressure from Miller, Acosta, Quartararo, with Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) doing a great job in P7. Lap 5 saw Miller and Marquez exchange places at Turn 10 and then at Turn 1. In the battle at the front, Bezzecchi had a huge moment going down into Turn 10, narrowly avoiding race leader Fernandez. In the fight for third on Lap 7, Acosta took both Miller and Marquez at Turn 1.
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By Lap 9, ‘Bez’ was back on Fernandez’s rear wheel and had much more pace than the #25, pouncing quickly at Turn 2 on Lap 10. Meanwhile on Lap 11, Indonesian Grand Prix winner Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) crashed out at Turn 6 but was all OK and walked away.
Onto the last lap at the front, it was a done deal as Bezzecchi and Fernandez were locked into the top two positions, barring any errors. But it was a true head-to-head between Acosta, Miller and Di Giannantonio for the final place on the podium.
Bezzecchi lived up to his tag of pre-Sprint favourite and got the job done for a second Saturday in a row, whilst Fernandez also made it two Sprint podiums on the spin, making it the first Aprilia 1-2 in a Tissot Sprint. Acosta resisted late pressure from Miller and Di Giannantonio and held onto third on the run to the line, the first Sprint without a Ducati in the top three.
Behind the top five, Alex Marquez was in sixth, dropping back after a blistering start, and Quartararo seventh. Both will hope for a better time of things on Sunday. Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) and Espargaro completed the Sprint points.
Outside of the points, Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) climbed to tenth whilst at the back, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and temporary teammate Michele Pirro in what was a Sprint to forget for the #63. Pecco’s 19th place, combined with Bezzecchi’s win, means that there are just eight points separating them in the battle for third overall.
2025 Australian MotoGP Results—MotoGP Sprint Race
| 1 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | 19m 3.971s |
| 2 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25) | +3.149s |
| 3 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +5.310s |
| 4 | Jack Miller | AUS | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +5.376s |
| 5 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP25) | +5.416s |
| 6 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24) | +6.109s |
| 7 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +8.706s |
| 8 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +8.938s |
| 9 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +9.252s |
| 10 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +9.752s |
MotoGP Qualifying
Home hero Miller found himself in Q1 and was the early pacesetter after the opening laps. The session favourite was arguably Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) though and it was the Indonesian GP winner who sailed to P1 with a 1:27.201, with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) slotting into P2 after the first stints were done.
0.055s split Aldeguer and Binder, with Miller 0.137s away from the top two in P3. Could the Australian wriggle his way into Q2? He was certainly giving it a good go. As Aldeguer extended his advantage at the top with a 1:27.071, Miller climbed above Binder into P2 to go 0.144s adrift of Aldeguer. But it wasn’t over yet.
Binder was on a charge but just ahead, Miller improved again to beat Binder’s time by 0.029s, with the top three split by 0.038s heading onto the final lap. All three of those riders were done, but Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) wasn’t. Setting a red sector through split two, the Frenchman was on course for the top two but Zarco encountered traffic through Turn 7 and 8, with Binder looking like the guilty party – in Zarco’s eyes anyway. The HRC rider was forced to abandon the lap and with that, it was Aldeguer and Miller venturing into Q2.
And then, it was pole position shootout time at Phillip Island. Leading the way early doors was Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) but on his second flyer, the #73 was down at Turn 4. Meanwhile, to the sound of plenty of Australian cheers, Miller stuck his Yamaha on provisional pole with a 1:26.885, and Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech3) climbed into P2!
Marquez got his Ducati fired up again to bring it back to the box, but by the time he did, the rider second in the championship had been shuffled down to P6, then P7. It was Miller from Espargaro from Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team), with Aldeguer fronting the second row alongside Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team).
Aldeguer then went P2 after setting the exact same lap time as Espargaro, with Turn 4 seeing Bezzecchi vent plenty of frustrations at Marini and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team). At this stage, the pre-session favourite was down in P11, one place behind Pecco, as we then geared up for the final five minutes of Q2.
On his out-lap, Miller had an unwanted trip into the Turn 2 gravel trap, but he kept it upright. Now, attention turned to Bezzecchi. And sure enough, the Italian rose to P1 with a 1:26.565, before Alex Marquez crashed for a second time. And this one was a lot quicker. Turn 1 bit the Spaniard, thankfully he was alright, but that was his chances of a front row gone.
Back on track, Bezzecchi stretched his legs again to cement pole position, as Acosta climbed up to P2 on his penultimate lap. That shoved Miller down to P3, but another Yamaha was flying. Quartararo was up through sector three and racing towards the line, we held our breath to see if the Frenchman could oust Bezzecchi. And he did. A stunner. Quartararo slammed home that 1:26.465 to clinch a late pole position in Australia, and Miller improved on his last lap too, meaning the #43 earned his first front row since the 2023 Japanese GP.
That was a proper qualifying session on the Island. Fernandez was another late improver to claim P4, with Acosta and Alex Marquez making up Row 2 in P5 and P6. Aldeguer launches his victory attack from P7, Espargaro joins his compatriot on Row 3 in P8, with Marini ninth and the top HRC rider. Di Giannantonio spearheads the fourth row in P10, just ahead of Bagnaia, who was forced to sit up and out of his time attack at the end of the session and qualified 11th. But now on Sunday Diggia will be ahead of Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) as Bagnaia gets a three-place grid penalty for being slow on line and will start P14. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) moves up to 12th.
2025 Australian MotoGP Results—MotoGP Qualifying
| 1 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | 1’26.465s |
| 2 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | +0.031s |
| 3 | Jack Miller | AUS | Pramac Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.243s |
| 4 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25) | +0.386s |
| 5 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.409s |
| 6 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24) | +0.455s |
| 7 | Fermin Aldeguer | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24)* | +0.530s |
| 8 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +0.530s |
| 9 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +0.630s |
| 10 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP25) | +0.651s |
Moto2 Qualifying
Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) will start the Moto2 Australian Grand Prix from pole position on Sunday after a dramatic, tantalising Q2 played out at Phillip Island. Home hero Senna Agius will line up in the middle of the front row, with his Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP teammate Manuel Gonzalez completing a top three that was split by a slender 0.076s.
Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team) spearheads the second row and is joined there by Q1 graduate Daniel Holgado and the latter’s CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar teammate David Alonso.
Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) crashed early in Q2 at Turn 4, but a rapid repair job from the mechanics saw the Spaniard able to earn P8 in the closing moments.
Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing), the rider P4 in the World Championship, launches from P10, meaning the top contenders in the title race are all in the mix in Australia.
2025 Australian MotoGP Results—Moto2 Qualifying
| 1 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) | 1m 29.817s |
| 2 | Senna Agius | AUS | Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.011s |
| 3 | Manuel Gonzalez | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.076s |
| 4 | Jake Dixon | GBR | Elf Marc VDS Racing (Boscoscuro) | +0.176s |
| 5 | Daniel Holgado | SPA | CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team (Kalex) | +0.178s |
| 6 | David Alonso | COL | CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team (Kalex) | +0.290s |
| 7 | Ayumu Sasaki | JPN | RW – Idrofoglia Racing GP (Kalex) | +0.311s |
| 8 | Aron Canet | SPA | Fantic Racing (Kalex) | +0.324s |
| 9 | Darryn Binder | RSA | Italjet Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) | +0.450s |
| 10 | Barry Baltus | BEL | Fantic Racing (Kalex) | +0.510s |
Moto3 Qualifying
A first pole of the season and what a place to do it; Joel Kelso (LEVELUP-MTA) was unstoppable, becoming the first Australian to take pole in Moto3 at Phillip Island. Behind him, newly-crowned World Champion Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Mandalika podium finisher Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) complete the front row.
The rider second in the Championship, Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) was only 14th.
Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia) spearheads the second row of the grid in P4 ahead of Kelso’s teammate Matteo Bertelle.
A returning to form Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) launches from P6 as he bids to close in on Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) in the Rookie of the Year race, with the latter starting from P9.
2025 Australian MotoGP Results—Moto3 Qualifying
| 1 | Joel Kelso | AUS | LEVELUP – MTA (KTM) | 1m 34.056s |
| 2 | Jose Antonio Rueda | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.091s |
| 3 | Joel Kelso | AUS | LEVELUP – MTA (KTM) | +0.225s |
| 4 | Luca Lunetta | ITA | SIC58 Squadra Corse (Honda) | +0.350s |
| 5 | Taiyo Furusato | JPN | Honda Team Asia (Honda) | +0.391s |
| 6 | Alvaro Carpe | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.436s |
| 7 | Joel Esteban | SPA | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.507s |
| 8 | Adrian Fernandez | SPA | Leopard Racing (Honda) | +0.528s |
| 9 | Maximo Qulies | SPA | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.647s |
| 10 | Guido Pini | ITA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +0.814s |
2025 Australian MotoGP News
Bezzecchi reaction to crash
Marco Bezzecchi had his first chance to speak publicly after a dramatic crash with Marc Marquez in Indonesia, and admitted the incident came about due to a misjudgment.
The Italian, who is still experiencing severe back pain two weeks on, said, “I didn’t want to try any overtake. Just I pick up because I was tighter in that corner, but I didn’t expect him to brake so much at the end, he did the corner like this, it’s my mistake, I was behind and it was… a misjudgment mistake.”
On whether he had been knocked out by the impact, Bezzecchi said, “, I was always conscious. I stayed down because for the hit, especially in my back, I couldn’t breathe. So I stayed there trying to wait the moment that the breath came back. I don’t know if you ever hit your ribs or your back and for sure you can understand how was the feeling, multiplied by thousands.”
Binder to have new crew chief
Phil Marron, current Crew Chief to Toprak Razgatlioglu, will move to KTM in 2026 where he will work with Brad Binder. The Northern Irishman will take over from Andres Madrid in the factory squad.
Binder was non-committal on the move. “I’m not too sure exactly what the changes will be. Until the end of the year, everything’s staying exactly the same. And then we’ll see after that.”
And his comments suggested the change has come about from KTM management’s insistence, rather than the South African’s. “I really enjoy my team,” said Binder. “I like everything exactly the way it is. I’m really happy. But I mean, you know, sometimes things change and let’s wait and see.”
Ducati hopeful of Marquez Valencia return
Ducati isn’t ruling out a Marc Marquez return before the end of the season, but insist there is no pressure on a return date. The recently crowned world champ underwent surgery to repair the acromioclavicular ligaments in his right shoulder.
“The injury is quite bad,” said Team Manager Davide Tardozzi. “It doesn’t allow him to be in the next two races. I think we are hoping that he will be back for Valencia, but so far we have to wait [to see] what will be [shown in] the new scan and what the doctors will say to him in two weeks.
“We cross our fingers to have him in the last race of the season and have him in the Valencia test. But, again, we have to wait to see what the doctors say. We don’t want to be in a rush.”
Friday MotoGP
Talk about smashing the previous lap record! Marco Bezzecchi’s (Aprilia Racing) unbelievably rapid 1:26.492 sees the Italian comfortably lead the MotoGP pack heading into Saturday at the Liqui Moly Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, and it’s another Aprilia rider acting as the #72’s closest challenger. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) improved late on to make it an RS-GP 1-2 in Practice at Phillip Island, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) rounding out the top three as fellow Ducati star Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), our latest winner, misses the Q2 cut.
MotoGP Practice, much like FP1, started with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) pull back into pit lane, shaking his head. Something wasn’t clicking with the Italian’s number one bike, so a swap to the second Ducati was again on the agenda. And once again, Pecco was immediately looking more at home as he promoted himself into P5 with 15 minutes of the session gone.
Bezzecchi led from Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) in the opening part of a dry but cold and windy Practice, before Di Giannantonio took over at the top with 37 minutes to go – the Italian setting a 1:27.483 to shuffle ahead of Bezzecchi.
Acosta’s small crash at Turn 4 put a brief halt to his session with just under 40 minutes to go, the #37 was back on track just over 10 minutes later, as the big changes began to unfold heading into the closing 15 minutes.
Home hero Jack Miller was a big mover on his Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP machine. The Australian fired his way up to P2, 0.023s behind Di Giannantonio, before Miller then went one better to top Practice with 14 minutes left on the clock. That didn’t last long though. Bezzecchi moved the goalposts with a 1:27.099, before the Italian then delivered a showstopper – a 1:26.580, a new all-time lap record by 0.666s. ‘Have that!’, said the #72.
El Diablo – also known as Fabio Quartararo – made it a Monster Energy Yamaha 2-3 behind Bezzecchi, with teammate Alex Rins sitting ahead of fourth fastest Fernandez. The latest movements meant Bagnaia found himself outside the top 10, while the #63’s rival for a P2 overall finish, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), jumped up to P3 to split the factory Yamahas.
With two minutes to go, Pecco still sat outside the top 10. But he was on a personal best lap three-quarters of the way round. A 1:27.132 was good enough to send Pecco into P7, before that was P8 as Pol Espargaro (Red Bull KTM Tech3), Maverick Viñales’ stand-in, made his way into the automatic Q2 places.
Lighting up the timing screens again shortly after was Bezzecchi. Surely another all-time lap record wasn’t inbound? Well, yes, it was. Bez landed a 1:26.492 to extend his mega advantage at the top to over four tenths, before Fernandez made it an Aprilia 1-2 to get within three tenths of the pacesetter – a top lap from the Trackhouse rider.
Attention then turned to Indonesian GP winner Aldeguer. Sat P11, could the rookie set a last-gasp personal best lap to knock Acosta out of the top 10? He came close, 0.005s off in fact, but it wasn’t enough. Our latest Grand Prix winner will need to come through Q1.
Can anyone catch Bezzecchi in qualifying will be the question heading into Saturday, as Aprilia enjoy a fantastic day at the office at Phillip Island. Fernandez sails into Q2 with a very strong P2, with Di Giannantonio a comfortable P3. The Italian is the fastest Ducati on Friday, while Quartararo is the quickest Yamaha in P4.
Alex Marquez completed the top five, as Rins, Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) and the impressive Espargaro enjoy top eight results in Practice. Bagnaia slipped to P9 by the chequered flag, but it’s job done in terms of getting straight into Q2, with Acosta just about holding onto P10.
2025 Australian MotoGP Results—Friday MotoGP
| 1 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP25) | 1’26.492s |
| 2 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP25) | +0.291s |
| 3 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | ITA | Pertamina VR46 Ducati (GP25) | +0.420s |
| 4 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.434s |
| 5 | Alex Marquez | SPA | BK8 Gresini Ducati (GP24) | +0.453s |
| 6 | Alex Rins | SPA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +0.514s |
| 7 | Luca Marini | ITA | Honda HRC Castrol (RC213V) | +0.559s |
| 8 | Pol Espargaro | SPA | Red Bull KTM Tech3 (RC16) | +0.562s |
| 9 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP25) | +0.640s |
| 10 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +0.653s |
Friday Moto2
Diogo Moreira’s (Italtrans Racing Team) title hopes are more than real as the Brazilian topped the opening day of action in Moto2 at Phillip Island. A deficit of just nine points means it is very much game on and after two crashes for Championship leader Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) on the first day, Moreira most definitely has the momentum into Saturday.
Gonzalez takes fifth but the Championship leader had a fast crash in FP1 at Turn 8 and suffered another tip-off at Turn 4 in the closing stages of Practice.
Finishing his session with a strong run, Senna Agius (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) was top before eventually finishing second.
David Alonso (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team) rounded out the top three ahead of FP1’s fastest Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing Team)
Indonesian Mario Aji (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) takes P6 as he finds more form on the comeback from injury.
Aron Canet (Fantic Racing), Tony Arbolino (BLUCRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2), Darryn Binder (Italjet Gresini Moto2) and rookie Collin Veijer (Red Bull KTM Ajo) complete the top ten
Two-time rookie race winner Daniel Holgado (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team) was out of position on the timesheets as he crashed and ended Practice in P21.
2025 Australian MotoGP Results—Friday Moto2
| 1 | Diogo Moreira | BRA | Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) | 1m 30.307s |
| 2 | Senna Agius | AUS | Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.008s |
| 3 | David Alonso | COL | CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team (Kalex) | +0.228s |
| 4 | Jake Dixon | GBR | Elf Marc VDS Racing (Boscoscuro) | +0.300s |
| 5 | Manuel Gonzalez | SPA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (Kalex) | +0.433s |
| 6 | Mario Aji | INA | IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) | +0.448s |
| 7 | Aron Canet | SPA | Fantic Racing (Kalex) | +0.469s |
| 8 | Tony Arbolino | ITA | BLU CRU PramacYamaha Moto2 (Boscoscuro) | +0.485s |
| 9 | Darryn Binder | RSA | Italjet Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) | +0.511s |
| 10 | Collin Veijer | NED | Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) | +0.533s |
Friday Moto3
A 1:34.726 from David Almansa (Leopard Racing) handed the Spaniard a lap record-breaking top spot on Friday at the Liqui Moly Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, as teammate Adrian Fernandez and Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Alvaro Carpe rounded out the top three.
Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) was P4 after improving in the closing stages, with P5 going the way of home crowd star Joel Kelso (LEVELUP – MTA). Compatriot Jacob Roulstone also moved through, the Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider in P11 despite a late tech issue.
Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) was P6, one place ahead of World Champion Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in P7.
Maximo Quiles (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) claimed P8 as the #28 aims to wrap up the Rookie of the Year accolade this weekend – that’s one to watch between him and Carpe.
2025 Australian MotoGP Results—Friday Moto3
| 1 | David Almansa | SPA | Leopard Racing (Honda) | 1m 34.726s |
| 2 | Adrian Fernandez | SPA | Leopard Racing (Honda) | +0.392s |
| 3 | Alvaro Carpe | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.562s |
| 4 | Angel Piqueras | SPA | FRINSA -MT Helmets – MSI (KTM) | +0.650s |
| 5 | Joel Kelso | AUS | LEVELUP – MTA (KTM) | +0.683s |
| 6 | Guido Pini | ITA | Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP (KTM) | +0.724s |
| 7 | Jose Antonio Rueda | SPA | Red Bull KTM Ajo (KTM) | +0.734s |
| 8 | Maximo Qulies | SPA | CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team (KTM) | +0.768s |
| 9 | Luca Lunetta | ITA | SIC58 Squadra Corse (Honda) | +0.786s |
| 10 | Stefano Nepa | ITA | SIC58 Squadra Corse (Honda) | +0.812s |
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