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Motegi winner and title challenger Andrea Dovizioso had a tough day in qualifying for the Australian GP, eventually lining up P11 after having also suffered a crash in FP4.

Unhurt and just losing a little confidence, the Ducati rider explained what happened: “The medium front tyre was on the limit on the right, I braked too hard and lost the front,” says the Italian.

“A classic Phillip Island crash. That made me lose some confidence on the front and in the end I didn’t make a good laptime.”

Points are given out on Sunday, however – something the Borgo Panigale factory man knows, having gone from ninth on the grid to the top step in Japan. Putting qualifying behind him, he’s guardedly optimistic about improvements on Sunday:

“I think the reality is different to what qualifying shows,” affirms the Italian as he looks ahead.

“Marc’s pace is fastest but after him, we’re there. It’s not enough and we have to work on it, but we have margin to improve. My feeling yesterday wasn’t bad, nor today before the crash when I was quite consistent."

"We have limits but it’s important to create a good feeling with me and the bike again, and to be smooth in the race because the race is long and the consumption of the rear tyre is very high. Anything can happen in 27 laps." He added

 

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Aleix Espargaro went quickest on Day 1 of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, mastering Phillip Island in FP2 to head the timesheets ahead of reigning Champion and points leader Marc Marquez – but not by much.

It was only 0.005 seconds splitting the two men, with Marquez’ key title rival Andrea Dovizioso in third and still within a tenth. The top on Day 1 was anything but lonely.

Weather on Day 1 was sunny and fair but with some wind giving pause for thought, and the forecast for Saturday remains a worry for some – with temperatures looking set to fall.

That made for some good squabbling for position, with a real chance that FP1 and FP2 combined timesheets may decide direct entry to Q2 should FP3 not give the field a chance to improve their times.

Behind the top three, last year’s winner at the Island Cal Crutchlow was fourth fastest after moving up the timesheets in FP2 to get in the mix at the front, ahead of Maverick Viñales. Viñales, who topped testing at the venue in preseason, also suffered a crash in the afternoon as he slid off at Turn 8 – rider ok.

Jack Miller impressed in the morning and again in the afternoon as he rides at home and only three weeks after breaking his leg in a training accident.

The rider from Townsville put his Honda in sixth, and was a fitting 0.043 off Viñales ahead of him. Andrea Iannone was another who enjoyed a notable Friday, with the Italian’s P4 at Motegi giving him a boost and Day 1 of the Australian GP seeing the former podium finisher at the venue put himself in seventh.

Johann Zarco had a solid start to the Australian GP in eighth, with the Frenchman gunning for the Rookie of the Year title and, with the absence of teammate Jonas Folger, needing only a top six finish to complete the task on Sunday. Dani Pedrosa was ninth quickest, and was back nearer the front following a tough Japanese GP.

The next three names on the timesheets made some headlines, as Pol Espargaro went a tenth quicker in the afternoon to take P10, leaving both Jorge Lorenzo and Valentino Rossi in eleventh and twelfth respectively.

That could be a hurdle for the two multiple World Champions as the weather remains in doubt for Saturday, when automatic graduation to Q2 will be finalised.

FP2 result

Pos Rider Team Time Gap 1st/Prev
1 Aleix ESPARGARO Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1'29.225  
2 Marc MARQUEZ Repsol Honda Team 1'29.230 0.005 / 0.005
3 Andrea DOVIZIOSO Ducati Team 1'29.322 0.097 / 0.092
4 Cal CRUTCHLOW LCR Honda 1'29.329 0.104 / 0.007
5 Maverick VIÑALES Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1'29.423 0.198 / 0.094
6 Jack MILLER EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1'29.466 0.241 / 0.043
7 Andrea IANNONE Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1'29.604 0.379 / 0.138
8 Johann ZARCO Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'29.667 0.442 / 0.063
9 Dani PEDROSA Repsol Honda Team 1'29.702 0.477 / 0.035
10 Pol ESPARGARO Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1'29.760 0.535 / 0.058
11 Jorge LORENZO Ducati Team 1'29.820 0.595 / 0.060
12 Valentino ROSSI Movistar Yamaha MotoGP 1'29.977 0.752 / 0.157
13 Karel ABRAHAM Pull&Bear Aspar Team 1'29.987 0.762 / 0.010
14 Bradley SMITH Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1'30.046 0.821 / 0.059
15 Alex RINS Team SUZUKI ECSTAR 1'30.085 0.860 / 0.039
16 Scott REDDING OCTO Pramac Racing 1'30.140 0.915 / 0.055
17 Danilo PETRUCCI OCTO Pramac Racing 1'30.269 1.044 / 0.129
18 Loris BAZ Reale Avintia Racing 1'30.274 1.049 / 0.005
19 Tito RABAT EG 0,0 Marc VDS 1'30.546 1.321 / 0.272
20 Sam LOWES Aprilia Racing Team Gresini 1'30.682 1.457 / 0.136
21 Hector BARBERA Reale Avintia Racing 1'30.777 1.552 / 0.095
22 Alvaro BAUTISTA Pull&Bear Aspar Team 1'31.688 2.463 / 0.911
23 Broc PARKES Monster Yamaha Tech 3 1'32.152 2.927 / 0.464
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LCR Honda's Cal Crutchlow was back in the mix on Day 1 at the Australian GP, taking fourth overall and outside the top three by only 0.004 seconds.

Last season the eventual race winner was in Q1; this year it could be a different story - with the weather for FP3's deciding session in doubt.

"At the end of the day we are happy enough with our performance, but we still need to improve the setting of the bike overnight," says the two-time GP winner.

"I didn’t feel great with the tyre today, but on the last run we seemed to make a big jump and some decent improvement."

"I look forward to seeing what we can do tomorrow in qualifying and also on Sunday. As things stand I think it’s going to be a big battle, and I look forward to seeing how it all turns out." He concluded

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Honda's Dani Pedrosa had a very difficult Japanese GP after the conditions worsened on race day, having struggled in FP1 as well before moving well up the timesheets throughout the rest of the weekend.

The ‘Little Samurai’ - Motegi’s most successful rider – found no feeling with the rear tyre from the start, with the situation then getting worse:

“It was a very difficult day and I'm really disappointed as there was a great opportunity to have a nice race. We improved so much during the free practice sessions, from FP1 to Saturday, but it isn’t clear what happened with the rear tyre in the race. Unfortunately I had a terrible feeling with the rear and there was no way I could go fast,” explained the Spaniard.

“At mid-point it started to spin so crazy in a straight line. I tried to manage the throttle control and go slower but lap by lap it was getting a lot worse. I started to drop my pace and then positions, a few laps later it was also in entry, in a straight line, shifting down the gears...I was completely sideways and had no control.”

Pedrosa - previously a winner in the wet - decided to pull in at that point, believing the risk to be too big.

“Once I was out of the points there was no meaning to continuing because I was about to crash,” said the three-time World Champion.

“So I stopped and we checked the tyre…it was a bit broken in the center, so we’re waiting to see what happened. With so much water on track I didn’t expect to have problems with the extra soft rear tyre and Petrucci used the same one and he ended up on the podium. We will study the data together with Michelin and try to avoid it from happening again.”

At the next venue, Pedrosa will be hoping for better weather to avoid risking a repeat – and aims to get another top points finish to add to his season tally; now two ahead of Valentino Rossi in fifth and 33 behind Maverick Viñales in third.

First it was a pit stop in Indonesia for the Repsol Honda Team, before touchdown at Phillip Island.

 

         

 

 

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