The action of round 19 has officially launched Down Under at the Australian Grand Prix, with Enea Bastianini and Pol Espargaro both having completed the first day of track action in chilly Phillip Island. Pol Espargaro, filling in for Maverick Viñales focusing on his shoulder recovery, clinched his direct Q2 ticket in Australia with a brilliant 8th place, while the day was tougher for Enea Bastianini, as he will face Q1 on Saturday after finishing 20th of Practice.
Grand Prix of Australia
What a way to return to racing action for Pol Espargaro! Back with the Red Bull KTM Tech3 squad for the first time since his last substitute duties back in August at the Hungarian Grand Prix, the golden number 44 made the sensation on day 1 of action of the Australian Grand Prix, as he grabbed a direct Q2 ticket in Friday’s practice with the 8th fastest lap. Returning on track in Australia for the first time since the 2023 season, it did not take too long for the Spaniard to catch up with the speed at the iconic Phillip Island track. Pol was in P16 at the end of FP1 on Friday morning, 0.757 seconds off early pace setter and local hero Jack Miller. Later in the afternoon, Espargaro grabbed the 8th place in a late effort with an improved 1'27.054 to finish just half a second away from the fastest, Marco Bezzecchi, while fellow KTM teammate Pedro Acosta closed the top 10, making it two RC16s out of four directly qualified in Q2.
The start to this new race weekend was tricky for Enea Bastianini, who appeared to lack feeling and confidence all day on his KTM. The Italian was hoping to arrive at Phillip Island in better shape after two challenging rounds in Japan and Indonesia, but somehow the number 23 continued to face diverse issues preventing him from being competitive. Enea had the P15 at the end of FP1, just 0.019 seconds ahead of teammate Espargaro. In Practice, things just did not go his way, and a late improvement to a 1'28.115 saw him end in P20. A lot of work awaits Enea and his team tonight, as we hope to arrive at Super Saturday in better shape. The Red Bull KTM Tech3 rider will face Q1 at 10:50 (UTC+11), shortly after Free Practice 2, kicking off MotoGP™ action at 10:10.
POL ESPARGARO: "I am impressed for sure, I was not really expecting to be that fast! Just a few days ago, I was in New York with my wife having fun, shopping, and now, we are in Q2 at the Australian GP, so life is very fun! I feel good with the bike, it is behaving super good, I can control all the parameters. Even when we push, we manage to not make too many mistakes, so it's great! We made a great lap for sure, maybe I can't repeat it twice, but everything is going well, I am very pleased with the Tech3 team, so let's see if we can continue in that direction tomorrow!"
ENEA BASTIANINI: "Congratulations to Pol, because he has done such a great job today! From my side, the day has been very difficult. Arriving in Australia, I was conscious that we might struggle, because the fast corners were difficult for me in Mandalika, and with the wind here, it was just worse. We obviously have a lot of work to do, because we are far from being competitive. We are a bit lost at the moment, the feeling on the bike is quite negative, so we are trying to find as soon as possible a way to be competitive again."
PRACTICE SESSION RESULTS
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA), Aprilia Racing, 1'26.492
2. Raul Fernandez (SPA), Trackhouse MotoGP Team, +0.291
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA), VR46 Racing Team, +0.420
8. Pol Espargaro (SPA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +0.562
20. Enea Bastianini (ITA), Red Bull KTM Tech3, +1.623
TRACK RECORDS
All Time Record: 2025 - M. Bezzecchi (ITA) - 1'26.492 - 185.1 km/h
Best Race Lap: 2024 - M. Marquez (SPA) - 1'27.765 - 182.4 km/h
Best Pole: 2023 - J. Martin (SPA) - 1'27.246 - 183.5 km/h
Top Speed: 2022 - E. Bastianini (ITA) - 356.4 km/h
