The last MotoGP round at The Island has shaken up the title fight, Marc Marquez snatched Tissot Sprint glory in an epic battle with Jorge Martin, then the lack of a medi chopper due to weather cancelled all of Sunday’s events! Report: Ed Stratmann/MotoGP Press
Martin arrived on Saturday as the Championship leader but crashed at Turn 8 on Lap 8, handing the #93 a clear path to victory and the lead in the standings. Sunday’s Grand Prix was later cancelled due to poor weather conditions, ensuring the Sprint result stood as the weekend’s defining moment.
Friday Practice and Saturday Qualifying
MotoGP
MotoGP’s thunder Down Under brought with it plenty of drama in the afternoon as two red flags, late crashes and big improvements gave a very interesting complexion going to Saturday. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing #72) went from early faller to Friday fastest in a topsy-turvy day at Phillip Island but the Italian’s 1’26.775 late on went untouched. Four Aprilias were in the top five, and with Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) in the middle of it all in third, just behind was Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team #25), as the fight was set to ignite ahead of Sprint Saturday.
1.494s. The biggest pole position margin since the 2019 Czech Grand Prix. It was Marc Marquez back then, and despite a Turn 4 crash, the Ducati Lenovo Team star took pole again as the reigning World Champion sailed to a phenomenal Saturday morning P1 on a damp, tricky Phillip Island. Running the #93 closest in a Q2 thriller was Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP #73), and 1.503s away from Marc Marquez’s 1:34.203 in P3 was Q1 graduate Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR #5), as World Championship leader Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) spearheaded the second row ahead of an unmissable Tissot Sprint in Australia.
Moto2
A 1:30.016 was good enough for current hat-trick hero Izan Guevara (BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 #28) to beat home hero Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP #81) by a slender 0.018s in Moto2 Practice at Phillip Island, while David Alonso (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team #80) rounded out a top three covered by 0.272s.
Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP #18) could hardly have scripted the start to his 100th Grand Prix any better. With the Moto2 title fight hotting up, and Phillip Island serving up a frantic, yellow flag-filled Q2, the Championship leader produced a 1:30.122 when it mattered most to claim pole position for the first time since the Italian GP.
Moto3
Continuing to chase his first Grand Prix victory, Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo #83) got off on the right foot to lead the Moto3 charge on day one at the Australian GP. Seeking redemption after his Indonesian GP DNF, Carpe was hoping to replicate his podium performance of 12 months ago and started strongly on Friday. Just behind, the home crowd was cheering for Joel Kelso (GRYD Racing #66) as the Australian came home in second place in Practice.
Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia #9) produced the lap of his life at Phillip Island to snatch a sensational maiden Moto3 pole position, becoming the first Indonesian rider to start from pole after a rain-tinged qualifying showdown in Australia.
Saturday
Tissot Sprint
In one of the most pivotal Sprints of the year, Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) snatched Tissot Sprint gold and reigned supreme in an epic battle against Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) at Phillip Island. The Martinator led coming into Saturday but crashed at Turn 8 on Lap 8 to hand the #93 a path to victory and the Championship lead. Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) came home in a close second and thanks to Fabio Di Giannantonio’s (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team #49) fine P3 Ducati locked out the Saturday podium, while Martin’s crash cruelly resulted in a weekend-ending injury.
The #93 got a perfect launch and snatched the holeshot, but it was a fast-starting Martin who blasted through from row two to P2. It was an action-packed opening lap, but it was Lap 2 where it all ignited as Alex Marquez got ahead of Martin into Turn 10. Martin fought straight back with a spectacular pass back on the 2025 runner-up at Turn 1, whilst Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) had a front-row seat in P4.
Martinator wasn’t finished either as he set off after the #93 at the front and attacked into Turn 4 on Lap 3 but couldn’t pull it down, giving the reigning World Champion the upper hand. Then, an attack into Turn 10 from Martin, this time good enough to hold P1. The battle rumbled on, but Zarco’s front-row seat had been handed to Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing #37) and Alex Marquez whilst the Frenchman’s Sprint was over all together with a technical issue taking him out of P5.
We were in for a real treat, though, as the top two in the Championship duked it out. Martin’s lead didn’t last long, however, as he made a mistake at Turn 4 on Lap 5, allowing Marquez back under him. Into Turn 1 on Lap 6, Martin got him back but couldn’t hold the line into Turn 2, giving the #93 the high ground. The same repeated itself a couple of laps later on Lap 8 but with the same initial outcome. However, this time Martin had an answer at Turn 4, another attempt at a block pass, but still he couldn’t pull it down.
Martin was on the ragged edge and it showed; taking the inside kerb at Turn 7, he was unsettled as he hit Turn 8 and tucked the front. Despite trying his best to dig in to save the crash, there was nothing that could’ve been done, and the #89 was sent tumbling through the gravel. It was now a Marquez 1-2, with Marc leading Alex and Di Giannantonio ghosting his way into the podium places.
In the closing stages, it was Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) who was on a charge; he had initially lost ground at the start and went from P9 on the grid to P12 at the end of Lap 1 but had picked his way through into fifth before grabbing fourth off Acosta into Turn 1 with four laps to go.
Despite drops of rain and late charges from Alex and Diggia, there was nothing that could halt Marc Marquez from taking a ninth Sprint win of the year ahead of his brother and Di Giannantonio. Bezzecchi’s fightback brought the Italian a hard-earned fourth ahead of Acosta, whilst Ogura took sixth at the line but was soon under investigation regarding his tyre pressure.
“It was a title battle. I gave everything, and I was aggressive, and he was faster than me. I just tried to defend in the best way possible, nice overtakes, and both of us were riding on the limit. Both of us deserved the victory because we are pushing a lot, but racing is like this, and today was on my side,” Marquez said.
Tissot Sprint Race Results
- Marc Marquez Ducati Lenovo
- Alex Marquez BK8 Gresini Ducati (+0.323s)
- Fabio Di Giannantonio Pertamina VR46 Ducati (+0.590s)
- Marco Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing (+1.074s)
- Pedro Acosta Red Bull KTM (+3.689s)
Sunday
MotoGP
Due to limited visibility affecting the operation of the medical helicopter at the Red Bull Grand Prix of Australia, the MotoGP Grand Prix race was cancelled. That has its own effect on the title fight after a dramatic Saturday in the standings too, with Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) crashing out of the Sprint when battling now-Championship leader Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team). 25 points less have now been tabled.
With no race possible, a farewell parade took to the Island on Sunday instead, with riders heading out behind the Safety Car to give the Sunday sell-out crowd a last look at MotoGP at the iconic Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit.
MotoGP Championship Points
- Marc Marquez Ducati Lenovo – 365
- Jorge Martin Aprilia Racing – 355
- Marco Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing – 315
- Pedro Acosta Red Bull KTM – 263
- Ai Ogura Trackhouse Aprilia – 259
Moto2 Championship Points
- Manuel Gonzalez Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP – 265.5
- Izan Guevara BLU CRU Pramac Yamaha Moto2 – 260
- Ivan Ortola QJMOTOR – Biolec – MSI – 191.5
- Daniel Holgado CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team – 170
- David Alonso CFMOTO Inde Team – 166
Moto3 Championship Points
- Maximo Quiles CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team – 351
- David Almansa Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP – 219
- Brian Uriarte Red Bull KTM Ajo – 203
- Alvaro Carpe Red Bull KTM Ajo – 191
- Marco Morelli CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team – 146
How Did the Aussies Do?
Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP #43) showed encouraging speed on Friday at Phillip Island, finishing 12th overall after setting the third-fastest time in the opening session despite having his progress disrupted by two crashes.
The popular Aussie star then enjoyed a standout Saturday at Phillip Island, progressing through Q1 to qualify fifth before finishing eighth in the Sprint to equal his best result of the season and score his first Saturday points of 2026, with Sunday’s Grand Prix later cancelled due to poor weather conditions.
Senna Agius enjoyed a strong Saturday at his home Grand Prix, as he finished second in the wet morning session and showing front-running pace in qualifying before a Turn 8 crash on his out lap left him seventh on the grid despite his impressive pace.
P3 was where Joel Kelso qualified for race day, leaving him well placed to challenge for a standout result on home soil, but unfortunately severe weather led to the race being cancelled, denying him the chance to capitalise on his front row start.
