Qualifying 
Incessant morning rain left the spectacular 4.45km Phillip Island Circuit wet ahead of qualifying. After using FP2 to get up to speed in the tricky conditions, Bastianini struggled for feel in a blustery Q2 session as his electronics were not quite working as he wanted. He set the eleventh fastest time to secure a spot in the middle of row four. Viñales adapted well to the wet, finishing twelfth in FP2 before placing fifth in Q1, putting him 15th on the grid. 

Sprint
The further showers that were forecast for Saturday afternoon didn’t arrive ahead of the Sprint, meaning all 20 MotoGP ™ riders started the shootout on slick tyres.

The wind had picked up by the afternoon. That, added to the cool temperatures of 17 degrees, made the opening to the 13-lap race tricky.

After a difficult start, Bastianini was soon caught up in a typical Phillip Island fight. Contact with another rider on the second lap pushed him back to 15th, but from there he mounted a good recovery.

Battling with four other riders for ninth place, ‘La Bestia’ couldn’t find the ideal place to make moves on Diogo Moreira, Iker Lecuona or Fabio Quartararo, who were just ahead. He crossed the line 12th in the final ever Sprint at Phillip Island, before a post-race penalty for Ai Ogura promoted him one place. Still, the Italian is confident the wet conditions that are likely to arrive on Sunday will offer a chance to improve on this result.

Viñales’ Saturday had started out promisingly. But in the dry conditions, ‘Top Gun’ recognised that the physical demands of the anti-clockwise Phillip Island Circuit were too high. Rather than risking serious inflammation in his left shoulder, he retired at the end of lap six.

Sunday brings another opportunity for Red Bull KTM Tech3 to fight for the points. MotoGP reverts to its normal Sunday schedule this weekend with Warm Up at 9:40 AEDT (UTC+11) and the 27-lap race at 14:00 AEDT (UTC+11). Wet conditions are forecast throughout the day.

Enea Bastianini: “Today was complicated from the morning, because in the wet the electronics didn’t work as I wanted. We still need to think about it, as tomorrow will probably be wet and we need to be ready, but I think the team has resolved this. I’m not really happy with the Sprint. The start was complicated and I lost some positions to other riders. After that my pace was not bad, but I was expecting something better from myself and I’m a bit disappointed. Tomorrow will be complicated. I prefer racing in the dry, but in the wet I’m sure we will be better than today.”

Maverick Viñales: “I was hoping for the rain, but it didn’t come, so it was very tough. To be honest, it was not so bad at the beginning, but then I started to lose control of the bike again and feel more and more pain, and that’s the limit. In Mandalika I didn’t stop and I really suffered, but this track is different. You arrive at the corners very fast, and as soon as you don’t have control of the bike, it’s better not to continue. This morning in the wet I could defend myself much more. My position on the bike is not fantastic so I can’t take full advantage of the conditions, but at least I can fight a bit more. It’s a shame, because on the right-hand side I’m riding at the top level, but it’s a totally different riding style in the left corners. It’s frustrating, it’s always the same loop: I recover, go racing, and the inflammation comes back. We will check the shoulder again before tomorrow but for now, I’m hoping for rain so I can try to be competitive.”

Nicolas Goyon, Team Manager: “Obviously a disappointing result this Saturday at Phillip Island, with P11 for Enea Bastianini and a DNF for Maverick Viñales. The weekend started quite well, and Enea achieved a super-fast lap yesterday in Practice, which qualified him directly into Q2. Unfortunately, today’s rain made everything a little bit more complicated, and in the end that meant lining up 11th on the grid. Then he had a pretty bad start in the Sprint, and later on he had contact with [Iker] Lecuona, which put him at the back of the field. From there it was another race, and without a strong pace he struggled to come back as he usually does. So, a disappointing result, and we’re looking forward to tomorrow. On Maverick’s side, it’s a complex situation. Maverick left Mandalika with a tired shoulder, and we knew this circuit would be difficult for him. It’s an anti-clockwise circuit with a lot of fast left-hand corners, and this is exactly where Maverick is suffering with his shoulder. So, he had to pull in during the Sprint. We hope that tomorrow’s rain will change the situation and make the bike less physical, and we expect Maverick at least to finish the race in a decent position.”