00:41
Chequered flag. Marco Bezzecchi, Fabio di Giannantonio and Fabio Quartararo form the top 3 in final practice.
Qualifying 1 next.
Marco Bezzecchi, 2025 Australian MotoGP
LIVE
2025 Australian MotoGP, Phillip Island: Sprint reaction - LIVE
Live updates from Saturday’s qualifying and Sprint race at the 2025 Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island.
MotoGP faces one of its most unpredictable weekends in recent seasons with newly crowned champion Marc Marquez - plus fellow former Phillip Island winners Jorge Martin and Maverick Vinales - all ruled out of action.
The trio formed the entire front row of last year’s Australian Grand Prix grid - when Marquez went on to win from Martin - but won’t take part this weekend due to injuries.
Factory Ducati star Marquez is absent for at least the next two rounds after undergoing surgery for ligament damage to his right collarbone, caused by contact from Marco Bezzecchi in Indonesia.
Martin continues to be sidelined after undergoing surgery for a collarbone fracture sustained in a Turn 1 clash with Aprilia team-mate Bezzecchi at Motegi.
Tech3 KTM’s Vinales withdrew after qualifying at Mandalika due to ongoing issues with his healing shoulder.
With six Australian MotoGP wins between them - Marquez (4), Martin (1) and Vinales (1) - the only proven premier-class ‘Island winners in action this weekend are Alex Rins (2022) and Johann Zarco (2023).
Marquez is being replaced by Ducati test rider Michele Pirro, Martin by Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori and Vinales by KTM test rider Pol Espargaro.
A battered and bruised Bezzecchi is back for Phillip Island, and was fastest in Friday practice. However, he needs to serve a double long lap penalty on Sunday for causing the scary incident with Marquez.
Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez completed an RS-GP one-two on Friday, although VR46 Ducati’s Fabio di Giannantonio, in third, was tipped as perhaps having the best race pace.
Yamaha were also competitive, exceeding their expectations with both Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins in the top six, either side of Alex Marquez.
Francesco Bagnaia suffered persistent shaking problems with one of his GP25s, but was able to secure direct Qualifying 2 access with ninth on the other machine.
Saturday’s schedule:
10:10am (local) / 00:10am (UK) - MotoGP FP2
10:50am (local) / 00:50am (UK) - MotoGP Qualifying
3:00pm (local) / 5:00am (UK) - MotoGP Sprint
18 Oct 2025
00:38
After a slow start, Fabio di Giannantonio has now recovered to second place behind Bezzecchi, confirming his speed from Friday.
Bezzecchi has now switched to the hard front tyre.
00:36
Crash
Johann Zarco stomps off in frustration after being unable to restart his Honda after a crash. He'll have to hope the bike gets back to the pits quickly for qualifying.
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00:28
Tech
Jack Appleyard in pit lane reports that Pedro Acosta has a new rear wing. The KTM rider also tried a new swingarm on Friday.
00:27
Alex Marquez and Brad Binder are the only riders in the top 13 using the soft front tyre, rather than medium. All riders are on the soft rear except Alex Rins and Somkiat Chantra (medium).
00:25
15mins - Halfway through FP2:
- Marco Bezzecchi
- Fermin Aldeguer
- Fabio Quartararo
- Francesco Bagnaia
- Raul Fernandez
- Joan Mir
- Alex Marquez
- Brad Binder
- Johann Zarco
- Fabio di Giannantonio
- Jack Miller
- Pedro Acosta
- Miguel Oliveira
- Franco Morbidelli
- Luca Marini
- Pol Espargaro
- Enea Bastianini
- Alex Rins
- Somkiat Chantra
- Lorenzo Savadori
- Michele Pirro
- Ai Ogura
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00:24
Fabio Quartararo is up to fifth for Yamaha, building on a strong opening day.
00:22
Bagnaia, out on his preferred #2 bike, is up to 3rd place. No one can understand why there is such a difference between his two machines, which are theoretically the same.
00:21
It's currently Marco Bezzecchi fastest from Fermin Aldeguer, Raul Fernandez, Alex Marquez and Brad Binder (Marquez and Binder on the soft front).
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00:20
Meanwhile, Bezzecchi is going faster with each lap... But he'll need to: Bezzecchi has a double long lap for the Grand Prix.
The Italian sends his RS-GP kicking and shaking after he clips a wet kerb but keeps control.
00:18
Replays show that Pedro Acosta, following Marini, got a face full of smoke and had to swerve to avoid Marini in the cloud ahead.
00:18
Engine failure
After Joan Mir on Friday, Honda team-mate Luca Marini's engine suffers a carbon copy failure on the main straight, blowing clouds of smoke.
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00:17
New lap record holder Marco Bezzecchi is back on top on his 3rd lap.
Fabio di Giannantonio, who looked to have the best race pace on Friday, is only 12th at the moment. Diggia has often spoken of his GP25 changing from day to day...
00:16
Most riders are using the medium front tyre and soft rear at the moment. The likes of Alex Marquez and Brad Binder are using the soft front.
00:15
Bagnaia is already back in the pits. He's looking more composed than yesterday, but there seemed to be a shake of the head and suggestion he wants the #2 bike again,
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00:13
Dorna pit lane reporter Jack Appleyard says that Francesco Bagnaia is indeed out on the problematic #1 bike that he had to abandon in the garage, twice, on Friday.
00:12
A lot of riders mentioned there are a lot of bumps that seem to have suddenly appeared in the Turn 1-3 area.
00:11
The green lights are on for final practice.
After shaking issues on one of his GP25s at the start of both Friday sessions, let's see how Saturday begins for Francesco Bagnaia.
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00:10
The MotoGP riders are putting their helmets on for a chilly but dry final practice. Slicks are expected from the start.
00:07
Although some riders wanted the grand prix race brought forward to Saturday afternoon (as in 2023) due to the high winds forecast for Sunday, there have been no schedule changes.
00:03
The top 11 MotoGP riders were under the old lap record on Friday, led by a 1m 26.492s for Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi.
For this afternoon's Sprint, Michelin expects a tyre choice similar to that seen on Friday afternoon: soft rear and medium or hard front.
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23:58
Some Moto2 riders have indeed moved to slicks for the final minutes of the FP2 session.
23:56
It's only 13 degrees, but the sun is shining and an 8 km/h wind is helping to dry the track, which looks ready for slicks.
23:55
Good morning and welcome to Crash.net's live coverage from day two of the Australian MotoGP.
After two dry sessions on Friday, it's been a wet start to Saturday, where the Moto2 class are completing their final practice session on wet tyres.
MotoGP FP2 starts at 10:10am, followed by the two qualifying sessions.
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