Marco Bezzecchi topped the practice timesheets at the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix on Friday, lapping the Phillip Island circuit in 1'26.775 on his factory Aprilia. The Italian edged Raul Fernandez on the Trackhouse-run RS-GP by 0.072 seconds, with Marc Márquez slotting his Ducati into third a further 0.054 seconds back.
Four Aprilia machines occupied the top five positions, underscoring the manufacturer's current form at the Victorian venue. Ai Ogura placed fourth on the second Trackhouse entry, while championship leader Jorge Martin rounded out the leading group in fifth, 0.255 seconds off the pace. The gap between first and fifth was a mere two and a half tenths, highlighting the tightly matched competitive order.
Ten riders advanced directly to the second qualifying segment. Behind the top five, Alex Márquez took sixth on the Gresini Ducati, followed by Enea Bastianini and Pedro Acosta on the factory KTMs, separated by just 26 thousandths. Diogo Moreira impressed in eighth aboard the LCR Honda, with Fabio Di Giannantonio completing the top ten on the VR46 Ducati.
Francesco Bagnaia's difficult weekend continued as the reigning champion could manage only 14th, forcing him into the first qualifying session. He will be joined by Johann Zarco, Jack Miller, Brad Binder, Fabio Quartararo, Iker Lecuona, Franco Morbidelli, Alex Rins, Maverick Viñales and Augusto Fernández — a stacked Q1 field that includes several former race winners.
Earlier in the day, Márquez had set the benchmark in the opening free practice session with a 1'27.985, leading Fernandez and Miller. Acosta recorded the highest top speed of the morning at 356.4 km/h, a 21 km/h advantage over Luca Marini's Honda at the bottom of the speed trap.
Conditions were dry and sunny on Friday, but forecasters predict a sharp temperature drop of more than ten degrees for Saturday, with rain likely to dominate the remainder of the weekend. The session also marked the final MotoGP appearance at Phillip Island before the championship moves to Adelaide next year, adding an extra layer of significance to the proceedings.
