05:35
6 laps to go and Bezzecchi surprises Acosta at Turn 8 to take 4th place. With di Giannantonio now nearly two-seconds clear that could be as good as it gets for Bezzecchi.
2025 Australian MotoGP
2025 Australian MotoGP, Phillip Island: Race reaction - LIVE UPDATES
Live updates from Sunday’s 2025 Australian MotoGP race at Phillip Island.
Can Saturday’s Sprint winner Marco Bezzecchi overcome a double long lap penalty to win the Australian MotoGP?
That’s the big question heading into Sunday’s race, where Bezzecchi needs to serve the penalty for clashing with Marc Marquez in Indonesia.
Bezzecchi - who won the Sprint by 3.149s after catching and passing fellow RS-GP rider Raul Fernandez - will start from the middle of the front row, between Yamaha riders Fabio Quartararo (pole) and home hero Jack Miller.
Quartararo made a mistake by choosing the medium front tyre in the Sprint, while Miller came within a fraction of his first Yamaha podium.
But the Frenchman at least knows he must use the hard front for the grand prix and has also indicated he could gamble on making the soft rear tyre last the Grand Prix distance.
Between Bezzecchi and Miller in the Sprint were Fernandez (Trackhouse) and Pedro Acosta (KTM), with VR46's Fabio di Giannantonio the top Ducati in fifth after carving through from tenth on the grid.
Fellow GP25 rider Francesco Bagnaia went in the other direction, plummeting from 11th to 19th, ahead of only stand-in team-mate Michele Pirro.
Bagnaia and Brad Binder (13th) each have a three-place grid penalty for this afternoon, after riding slowly on the racing line and obstructing other riders in qualifying.
Newly crowned champion Marquez, plus fellow former Phillip Island winners Jorge Martin and Maverick Vinales, are all missing this weekend due to injuries.
Marquez is replaced by Ducati test rider Pirro, Martin by Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori and Vinales by KTM test rider Pol Espargaro.
The Sunday schedule has been delayed by one hour to try and avoid the worst of the forecast high winds, meaning the grand prix now starts at 3pm local time.
19 Oct 2025
05:34
Raul Fernandez is continuing to manage his advantage over Alex Marquez at 3-seconds.
di Giannantonio is now clear of Acosta for 3rd, with Bezzecchi searching for a way past the KTM.
05:30
8 laps to go and di Giannantonio dives under Acosta at Lukey Heights - but Acosta gets him back into Turn 1 to reclaim 3rd!
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05:30
👀🔄 @37_pedroacosta runs wide through Stoner Corner and @alexmarquez73 takes full advantage! #AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/u7oQfNk2O8
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 19, 2025
05:30
Acosta has made a name for himself with some superb defensive riding in recent events and is delivering for KTM again today. The Spaniard doesn't have the raw pace but is fast in a straight line and so good on the brakes...
05:29
Barring a major tyre wear shock, Bezzecchi's best hope is a podium, but he'll need to pass Fabio di Giannantonio and Pedro Acosta to get it.
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05:27
... The initial answer is a "no". They both set the same lap time with 10 laps to go and Fernandez 2.9s clear.
05:26
These next few laps could be crucial for showing if Alex Marquez, in clear air, has the pace to catch Raul Fernandez.
05:25
Alex Marquez passes Pedro Acosta
Lap 16/27: Alex Marquez and Pedro Acosta exchange 2nd place, which the Gresini rider eventually holds. Can he reel in Fernandez, who is now 2.8s ahead?
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05:24
Bezzecchi is the fastest rider on track, in the high 1m 27s, but is still 4-seconds from the leading RS-GP of Raul Fernandez.
05:23
Lap 15/27: Raul Fernandez is now 2.0s ahead of Acosta. So far, so good for a shock debut Trackhouse and Fernandez MotoGP win...
05:22
A rather painful sight at Quartararo plummets down to 9th 📉😮#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/EIHX31VpSA
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 19, 2025
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05:22
Raul Fernandez responds and pushes his lead back up to 1.7s over Acosta and Alex Marquez. There's now a 1.1s gap from Marquez to Fabio di Giannantonio, with Bezzecchi not quite within reach of the VR46 Ducati.
05:20
Lots of red sectors flashing up from the frontrunners as the race approaches the midway stage. Acosta and Alex Marquez drop into the 1m 27s.
05:19
Lap 11/27: Top 10 - Raul Fernandez 1.5s Pedro Acosta, Alex Marquez, Fabio di Giannantonio, Marco Bezzecchi, Luca Marini, Fabio Quartararo, Pol Espargaro, Fermin Aldeguer, Brad Binder.
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05:17
Lap 10/27: Bezzecchi finally passes Quartararo, but is now 4.2s behind race leader Fernandez.
05:17
Crash
Honda's Joan Mir crashes from 12th place.
05:17
MILLER OUT OF HIS HOME RACE 😫 🇦🇺 #MotoGP | #AustralianGP | Live on TNT Sports and Discovery+ pic.twitter.com/gsYERbGu3s
— TNT Sports Bikes (@bikesontnt) October 19, 2025
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05:16
Francesco Bagnaia moves into 15th place, with a lap time of 1m 28.2s... that's only 0.2s slower than race leader Raul Fernandez.
05:15
Meanwhile, Bezzecchi is suffering behind Quartararo, he can't clear the Yamaha and is losing valuable time.
05:15
Trackhouse Aprilia's Raul Fernandez is the fastest rider on track, he's built his lead to nearly 1.5s over Pedro Acosta!
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05:14
Alex Marquez into 3rd
Alex Marquez, who like Fabio Quartararo chose the wrong front tyre in the Sprint, blasts past the Yamaha rider on the main straight to move into 3rd.
Fellow Ducati rider Fabio di Giannantonio demotes Quartararo to 4th shortly after, di Giannantonio might be a dark horse after a late charge from 10th to 5th in the Sprint.
05:13
Bezzecchi is 2.8s behind race leader Raul Fernandez with 20 laps to go.
But the bigger problem is overtaking the riders ahead.
05:12
Bezzecchi completes 2nd long lap
Lap 7/27: Marco Bezzecchi completes his 2nd and final long lap, dropping from 3rd to 6th.
Race order: Raul Fernandez, Pedro Acosta, Fabio Quartararo, Alex Marquez, Fabio di Giannantonio, Marco Bezzecchi.
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05:10
Crash
Home hero Jack Miller crashes out of podium contention in 6th place.
