Podcast: Is the Australian Grand Prix MotoGP 2025’s most wide open race?

The 2025 MotoGP season continues this weekend with the Australian Grand Prix at the picturesque Phillip Island for the 19th round of the campaign.

Though the championship battle has already been sewn up in favour of Marc Marquez, there is still plenty of intrigue surrounding the final four rounds of the season.

And, at least for the next two weekends, the action will have to carry on without the world champion following surgery on a shoulder injury sustained at the Indonesian Grand Prix.

With Marquez absent, as well as Jorge Martin and Maverick Vinales, all of last year’s front row will not take part in the 2025 Australian Grand Prix.

Pre-round favourite Marco Bezzecchi on the Aprilia faces a penalty for his collision with Marquez at Mandalika, while the Indonesian Grand Prix saw one of the most unexpected finishing orders of the entire campaign.

With weather and wildlife always additional factors impacting races at Phillip Island, the chances of an unexpected result and a wild event are always high.

In a year that has been dominated by Marc Marquez and Ducati, does Phillip Island pose the most wide open grand prix yet this season?

That is the main question posed to the Crash panel on the latest edition of the Crash MotoGP Podcast, which you can listen to at the link below.

Download the Crash MotoGP Podcast here

“It always throws up drama, excitement, all of the above, and good racing most of all,” Crash MotoGP Editor Peter McLaren said.

“The [Andrea] Iannone seagull headbut is always one people remember. But you can look back at almost any event and find something special about it. It was the first place where the Aprilia RS-GP led a race in 2019, and that was such a big thing. And then Sepang was a week later and that was where he [Iannone] failed the anti-doping test.

“Even things that don’t seem that consequential have a big effect and they all come back to Phillip Island. And we go into this weekend as one of the most open weekends since Marc got injured in 2020.

“Marc’s got a great record around Phillip Island. The way he has been riding this year, you would have almost nailed on two wins for him this weekend if he was fit and riding. Instead he’s out injured, the front row from last year is not going to be there. You’ve got Pecco who you don’t know it’s going to be Motegi Pecco or Mandalika Pecco this weekend. We’ve got Bez, who looked fast at the twisty sections of Mandalika, but he’s almost certain to have a penalty. It’s really hard to predict…”