MotoGP Australia Results, Grand Prix - Long game

MotoGP heads to Phillip Island this weekend for the Australian Grand Prix. This page will be updated throughout the weekend with MotoGP Australia results.

Overview

Sprint - MotoGP Australian Sprint cancelled due to weather conditions

Grand Prix - Zarco takes maiden MotoGP win as Martin goes from cruising to 5th

Qualifying - Martin destroys premier class field with Australia pole

Practice - Binder leads KTM 1-2 as Bagnaia misses Q2 again

Grand Prix

Jorge Martin started from pole position for the MotoGP Australian Grand Prix, but an incorrect tyre choice meant he slipped from the lead to fifth on the final lap, while Johann Zarco took his first MotoGP race win.

It’s hard to ever describe an Australian MotoGP race as a slow-burner, but it is true that the result is rarely decided at the start. Jorge Martin’s holeshot and soft-compound rear tyre choice, though, put him in prime position early on in Phillip Island’s 2023 edition.

The first lap was stunning from Martin, who led over Brad Binder by half-a-second, while Francesco Bagnaia slipped backwards in the early stages.

Martin’s lead was up to one second by the end of lap three, by which time Bagnaia’s struggles were compounding. He was passed by Fabio Di Giannantonio for third, and the queue behind the #1 covered back to 11th place and Pol Espargaro.

That queue had started to fragment by lap 10, and it was now that Bagnaia’s pace was beginning to improve, and, a few laps later, he had caught Di Giannantonio for that third place.

No sooner had Bagnaia caught Di Giannantonio, though, than his pace had dropped from the low-1:29s to the low-1:30s. That left Di Giannantonio free to attack a fading Brad Binder for second place, as Bagnaia defended from the second Pramac Ducati of Johann Zarco.

Di Giannantonio finally made his move on Binder at the beginning of lap 19, and he then started to close in on Martin, who was now almost two-seconds-per-lap slower than he was at the beginning of the race.

Martin had seemingly done his job in the first half of the race. His 3.5-second lead meant that he could manage the gap from there. But, he nonetheless continued to fall back in the last five laps.

By the final lap, Martin had capitulated entirely; his lead was 0.4 seconds over the line, and he lost that lead altogether at turn four to his teammate, Zarco. Bagnaia followed Zarco through for second place, then Di Giannantonio passed for third place at Hayshed, and Binder out-dragged Martin for fourth on the run to the line.

The fifth place Martin ended up with had looked destined for the hands of Bagnaia only one lap before, but the Italian managed to salvage second in the end. He took advantage of Zarco’s pass on Martin to pass the #89 himself, but he was unable to do anything about Zarco himself, who finally took his first premier class win. 

To consider that Zarco has led MotoGP races for considerable distances without winning until this point, it is no doubt curious that his maiden win should come in a race that was led for all but eight corners by his title-contending teammate.

Fabio Di Giannantonio had not contended for a podium in the premier class before, but he did not need a second chance to claim some MotoGP silverware. He was ruthless in passing Bagnaia at the start, patient with Binder with a few laps to go, and ruthless yet again in passing Martin at turn eight. Yet, the #49 might have only four Grands Prix remaining in his career.

Brad Binder was the only non-Ducati rider within nine seconds of the win, and he took fourth place. His KTM teammate, Jack Miller, was the second non-Ducati rider in seventh place. Marco Bezzecchi took sixth place with a late charge, while Aleix Espargaro was eighth and top Aprilia. Alex Marquez (9th) and Enea Bastianini (10th) rounded out the top 10.

The size of Martin’s task in managing that soft rear tyre was highlighted by Marc Marquez, who was battling with Zarco in the first five laps, but finished 15th (top Honda) and 20 seconds off the win.

Full MotoGP results from the Australian Grand Prix are below.

2023 MotoGP Australia Results | Grand Prix

Qualifying

MotoGP qualifying in Australia was entered with Jorge Martin as the favourite, having dominated the preceding FP2 session

The first news of MotoGP qualifying in Australia was that it would take place sans Alex Rins, who withdrew from the weekend on Saturday morning due to continued pain in the leg he broke in Italy four months ago.

Rins would have taken part in Q1. Although he was the fastest Honda on Friday, the LCR Honda rider was only 12th fastest overall, indicating HRC's difficulties on Phillip Island. Marc Marquez defied these difficulties, though, to snatch a Q2 spot from the hands of Augusto Fernandez, ironically by using Fernandez as a marker on his final lap. 

The #93 finished Q1 in second place, behind only Francesco Bagnaia, who did what he could not in Indonesia, and made it through to Q2.

Q2 was dominated by Jorge Martin. His 1:27.846 from his first run was plenty good enough for pole position, but his second run was simple brutality. A 1:27.246 put Martin 0.416 seconds ahead of his nearest challenger, who was Brad Binder. Francesco Bagnaia completed the front row, but 0.468 seconds slower than his title rival, Martin.

Aleix Espargaro held up Aprilia honour in fourth place, ahead of two more Ducatis with Johann Zarco (5th) ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (6th). Marc Marquez, the only Honda and only Japanese bike in Q2, was seventh, and ahead of the second KTM of Jack Miller in eighth, and Maverick Vinales (9th) who rounded out row three.

Marco Bezzecchi rounded out the qualifying top 10, ahead of Pol Espargaro (11th) and Enea Bastianini (12th).

Full MotoGP results from qualifying in Australia are below.

2023 MotoGP Australia Results | Qualifying

Practice

Full MotoGP results from Practice in Australia are below.

2023 MotoGP Australia Results | Practice