Marco Bezzecchi demolished the Australian MotoGP lap record in setting the standard during second practice on Friday, becoming the first rider ever to dip below 1:27 at Phillip Island.
The Italian, who won the Indonesia sprint race a fortnight ago before slamming into world champion Marc Marquez during the grand prix, blazed round the waterfront circuit in 1:26.580 on his Aprilia. His time shattered the previous best of 1:27.246 set by Jorge Martin in 2023. Not content with that, he then bettered it with a sizzling 1:26.492. It left Bezzecchi 0.291sec clear of Raul Fernandez, also on an Aprilia, with Ducati-VR4 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio third and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo fourth.
“An unbelievable lap, he hit the record two times, which means he has confidence with the bike,” Aprilia team boss Paolo Bonora said of Bezzecchi. “To be honest, our bike was good for the past year, but we didn’t achieve many results.” Ducati-Gresini’s Alex Marquez came fifth, 0.453sec adrift, as he looks to seal the world championship runner-up spot behind brother Marc. Spain’s Marquez has an 88-point lead over two-time world champion Francesco Bagnaia in the battle to clinch second in the standings with four rounds left of the 22-stop season. He can do so by finishing the weekend 111 points clear of his Italian Ducati rival, who failed to score a point in Indonesia just a week after winning the Japan MotoGP and sprint races.