2025 AUSTRALIAN MOTORCYCLE GRAND PRIX

Words Mike Ryan

Photos Russell Colvin (unless indicated)

Despite the absence of both the newly crowned and defending MotoGP World Champions, the Liqui Moly Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2025 saw new faces come to the fore, breakthroughs achieved, and history made more than once in a weekend packed with action.

It wouldn’t be an Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix without the weather coming into play. Such was the case again for this year’s event on 17–19 October, but not to the same extent as in 2023, when the sprint and feature race days were switched, with the sprint ultimately abandoned. Forecast high winds for the morning of Sunday, 19 October, saw the three grand prix races all rescheduled to an hour later in the programme. Rain impacted the opening day, then threatened on Sunday, but didn’t arrive until long after the final race.

State of Play – Moto3

The Moto3 World Champion for 2025 had been decided at the previous round, with Jose Antonio Rueda’s win at Mandalika giving the Red Bull KTM Ajo rider an unbeatable 109-point lead with four rounds remaining. The minor placings were still up for grabs, though, with Angel Piqueras (FRINSA MT Helmets MSI KTM) and Maximo Quiles (CFMoto Gaviota Aspar Team KTM) battling for second. Quiles’s charge had included two wins and six other podiums in the past 12 races, with only his absence from four of this year’s first five rounds excluding the 17-year-old from outright championship contention.

David Munoz (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP KTM) was holding onto fourth in the championship, despite a late crash at Mandalika that brought out the red flag. Australia’s Joel Kelso (LevelUp-MTA KTM) was in fifth overall, but hoping the familiar Phillip Island circuit (where he finished eleventh last year and third in 2023) would bring a return of the form that had seen the 22-year-old achieve podiums at CotA, Jerez and Le Mans earlier this year.

The Antipodean contingent in Moto3 also included Jacob Roulstone (Red Bull KTM Tech3) and New Zealand’s Cormac Buchanan (Denssi Racing BOE KTM), who were 15th and 19th in the championship coming into Phillip Island. Roulstone arrived off a fifth place at Mandalika, his best finish of the season, while Buchanan’s best this year had been ninth at the Sachsenring back in July.

State of Play – Moto2

Just a few rounds prior to the Liqui Moly Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, the 2025 Moto2 World Championship seemed like a case of ‘when’, not ‘if’ for Manuel Gonzalez (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex). The 23-year-old from Madrid had secured three wins and two podiums in the opening six rounds, and despite not standing on the top step since Mugello in June, was comfortably leading the championship. The fast mover behind him was Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team Kalex).

With a freshly-signed contract for MotoGP with LCR Honda in his pocket, the young Brazilian was looking to exit Moto2 as a champion, so had been steadily eating into Gonzalez’s lead. At Mandalika, a win for Moreira and DNF for Gonzalez turned what had been a 39-point lead for Gonzalez ahead of the flyaways to just 9 points as the championship came to Phillip Island.

While the title chase seemed to be a two-horse race between Gonzalez and Moreira, other contenders with mathematical possibilities included Aron Canet (Fantic Racing Kalex), Barry Baltus (Fantic Racing Kalex) and Jake Dixon (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team Boscoscuro), who were third, fourth and fifth in the championship.

After achieving his first Moto2 race win at Silverstone earlier this year, and a fifth at Misano in June, Australia’s Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP Kalex) was in something of a slump. Agius had finished third at Phillip Island last year (his debut Moto2 podium), so had that to draw from, along with the chance to cement his Top 10 place in the championship.

The Aussie Moto2 contingent at Phillip Island doubled with the late addition of Harrison Voight, filling in for the injured Unai Orradre at QJ Motor Frinsa MSI Boscoscuro. Voight performed a similar role for Preicanos Racing Team last year, replacing David Munoz and finishing 18th in the race.

State of Play – MotoGP

The 2025 MotoGP season will be remembered as the one where Marc Marquez dominated, reclaiming the world championship he last won in 2019. Moving from Gresini Racing Ducati to the factory Ducati Lenovo Team this season, Marquez seemed unstoppable on the top-spec Desmosedici GP25. He won the first six sprints and three of the first four feature races. Then, from the Aragon GP in June through to the Hungarian GP in late August, Marquez went unbeaten for seven successive rounds. Runner-up finishes at Catalunya and Motegi showed the Spaniard could be beaten, though, but as Marquez secured the championship at Motegi, the point was moot. It was fortunate that Marquez did win the championship then, because at the next round in Indonesia, a crash in the feature race saw the newly-crowned champion suffer a shoulder injury that ruled him out for the remainder of the flyaways (and later for the rest of the season).

With defending World Champion, Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) also absent from Phillip Island with injury, it opened up a lot of possibilities. Could Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) get his rollercoaster season back on track? Could championship runner-up Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), winless at Phillip Island, break that duck? Could Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) also break his Phillip Island drought? Or would the Aussie round produce a different maiden winner? In 2023, Johann Zarco (with Prima Pramac Racing Ducati back then) achieved his debut victory in what was his 120th premier class start. The past three Australian GPs have been won by different riders, so a new name on the winner’s list was certainly a possibility, including some hope that Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP’s Jack Miller could be added to that list.

Practise and Qualifying – Moto3

Friday, 17 October, the opening day of the Liqui Moly Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2025, saw the Moto3 class on track first. In wet conditions, Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing Honda) laid down the first marker, with a 1m44.461s lap. Quiles was the only other rider to do a 1m44.4s lap in the first Free Practise session, although Kelso and Buchanan were inside the top ten, as was Piqueras, Rueda, Guido Pini (Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP) and Quiles’s team mate, Joel Esteban.

A dry track for the day’s second session saw lap times cut by 10 seconds at the pointy end, with David Almansa (Leopard Racing Honda) smashing the lap record with a 1m34.726. Fernandez was next best with a 1m35.118, then Alvaro Carpe (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Piqueras. Kelso was again inside the top ten (1m35.409), while Buchanan dropped to 21st. Roulstone finished the opening day with 14th and 11th times after suffering technical issues.

In dry, cool conditions for Free Practise 2 on the morning of Saturday, 18 October, Kelso topped the time sheets with a 1m34.985. That gave the Aussie automatic entry into Qualifying 2 that he translated into pole position. His first pole for this season, Kelso’s 1m34.056s lap was also an all-time circuit record for the class and the first time an Aussie has achieved pole in Moto3 at Phillip Island.

Rueda and Luca Lunetta (Sic58 Squadra Corse Honda) completed the front row, with Taiyo Furusato (Honda Team Asia), Matteo Bertelle (LevelUp MTA KTM) and Carpe on Row 2. Roulstone qualified in 13th to lead the fourth row, while Buchanan would start from 17th on the grid.

Moto3 POLE – Joel KELSO AUS KTM 1m34.056

Practise and Qualifying - Moto2

The track had dried enough for Moto2’s opening Free Practise session on Friday to be declared dry, so Gonzalez had no real excuse for his two crashes on the day: one in the morning’s FP1 and the other in the main Practise session that afternoon. Dixon was fastest in FP1, with Moreira topping the timesheets in Practise. Agius progressed from fourth to second across the two sessions and was actually leading before Moreira set a new lap record of 1m30.307, leaving the Aussie to settle for second fastest overall with a 1m30.315s.

While Voight has been racing in the Moto2 European Championship this year, he was cautious on the QJ Motor Frinsa MSI Boscoscuro, finishing well down the leaderboard.

Wet conditions for Saturday morning’s Free Practise 2 shuffled the field, so those confident they had a spot in Qualifying 2, like Agius, Moreira and a handful of others, sat out this tricky session. Tony Arbolino (bLU cRU Prama Yamaha Moto2 Boscoscuro) was quickest in FP2 with a 1m32.867, ahead of the Onlyfans American Racing Team pairing of Marcos Ramirez and Joe Roberts. The latter would crash hard in Qualifying 1, but emerge unscathed.

The battle for pole in Qualifying 2 was virtually a repeat of the day before, with Moreira recording a 1m29.817 to just pip Agius’s 1m29.828. Gonzalez completed the front row with a 1m29.893. Dixon qualified fourth, while Daniel Holgado (CFMoto Power Electronics Aspar Team Kalex) progressed through Q1 to join his team mate David Alonso on the second row. Canet recovered from a crash in Q2 to start from Row 3, between Ayumu Sasaki (RW Idrofoglia Racing GP Kalex) and Darryn Binder (Italjet Gresini Moto2 Kalex). Baltus, Arenas and Arbolino filled Row 4, with Voight starting from 27th on Row 9.

Moto2 POLE – Diogo MOREIRA BRA Kalex 1m29.817

Practise and Qualifying – MotoGP

In dry but cold conditions for Friday morning’s Free Practise 1, Miller gave the local fans reason to cheer with the fastest time – 1m28.281s - ahead of Alex Marquez and Acosta. The pace ramped up in Practise that afternoon, with Bezzecchi setting a new lap record of 1m26.492s. Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) made it two Aprilia RS-GPs atop the timesheets, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) and Alex Marquez also in the 1m26s bracket.

Aldeguer, fresh from his maiden MotoGP win at Mandalika a fortnight earlier, logged a 1m27.150, while Miller improved to 1m27.309 in the afternoon, but neither time was good enough to go straight through to Q2. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) would also have to go through Qualifying 1.

Bagnaia, frustrated with his number one Desmosedici, changed to the number two bike, but saw only minor improvement; his best lap being a 1m27.132.

Of the “fill-in” riders at this round – Pol Espargaro for Maverick Vinales, Lorenzo Savadori for Jorge Martin, and Michele Pirro for Marc Marquez – Espargaro was quickest on Day 1 with a 1m27.054 lap. Coincidentally, the three missing riders this year were the front row starters for last year’s Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.

After Saturday’s Free Practise 2 session that saw Luca Marini’s Honda HRC Castrol bike blow its engine in spectacular fashion down Gardner Straight, Qualifying 1 saw Aldeguer and Miller book their spot in Q2. Espargaro was quick early in Q2, while Alex Marquez crashed at Turn 4 chasing a fast lap and Miller ran wide at Turn 2. Fernandez continued his good form, Acosta looked likely to gain a front row start, and Marini was the best of the Hondas.

2025 aust gp — *Pole for Quartararo was his fifth this year, while Miller's third place start was his best qualifying performance in more than two years.*

Whether it was the crowd or some magic dust on the Pramac Yamaha, Miller was inspired to set a 1m26.708 lap in Q2, securing third on the grid - his first front row start since the 2023 Japanese GP, and the first for an Aussie at the Australian GP since Casey Stoner in 2012.

Bezzecchi needed a good grid spot to counter the double long lap penalty he’d have to serve for a crash with Marc Marquez at Mandalika, but couldn’t improve on his Practise time. Quartararo could, though, putting in a blinding 1m26.465 lap – breaking the all-time lap record that Bezzecchi had set less than 24 hours earlier to achieve his fifth pole of the 2025 season.

With Quartararo on pole, and Bezzecchi and Miller alongside, this was the first MotoGP front row without a Ducati since 2020. It also set up a ‘Super Sunday,’ with Aussies on the front row in all three classes – Agius second on the grid in Moto2 and Kelso on pole in Moto3.

Fernandez, Acosta and Alex Marquez filled Row 2, with Aldeguer, Espargaro and Marini on Row 3. Bagnaia’s woes continued, qualifying 11th, which was already his second worst start at Phillip Island. A three-place grid penalty moved him back to 14th.

MotoGP POLE – Fabio QUARTARARO FRA Yamaha 1m26.465

Sprint – MotoGP

In the Saturday afternoon Tissot Sprint, a shocking start for Quartararo saw the poleman lose the holeshot to Alex Marquez, then drop to sixth by the end of the opening lap. Binder crashed at turn 2 on lap 2, and Bezzecchi was carrying extra weight in the form of a seagull he’d hit on the warm-up lap. It seemed to have no effect on the Italian’s performance, though, as he was soon chasing down the leading Fernandez.

By lap 3, Fernandez and Bezzecchi had put a 1+ second gap on those behind, who were engaged in their own battle. Miller passed Marquez for third on lap 5, but lost the place a lap later. Acosta then muscled his way into third but had Miller right on his tail, while Bezzecchi had a scary moment when he almost collided with Fernandez going into MG Corner.

As the 13-lap Sprint wound down, Bezzecchi started to hunt Fernandez, then made a pass for the lead on lap 10. Aldeguer crashed out at Siberia a lap later, by which time Bezzecchi was more than a second in front. Fernandez was unable to respond, allowing the Italian to take an easy victory – the final gap being more than 3 seconds. Acosta completed the podium, with Miller’s fourth his best Sprint finish this season. Di Giannantonio was fifth, followed by Marquez and Quartararo, with Marini and Espargaro collecting the final Sprint points. Bagnaia’s horror weekend continued, finishing second last and more than 30 seconds behind the winner.

Aprilia’s 1-2 was the first for the manufacturer since the Sprint format was introduced in 2023, while Acosta’s third place meant this was also the first ever Sprint without a Ducati on the podium.

MotoGP Sprint – Top 5

Marco Bezzecchi ITA Aprilia 19m03.971s
Raul Fernandez SPA Aprilia +3.149s
Pedro Acosta SPA KTM +5.310s
Jack Miller AUS Yamaha +5.376s
Fabio Di Giannantonio ITA Ducati +5.416s

RACE – Moto3

With the start pushed back to 12 Noon to counter strong winds forecast for Sunday morning, the 21-lap Moto3 race got underway in cool, dry conditions with Rueda getting the holeshot into Turn 1, but polesitter Kelso had the lead back by Turn 2.

Roulstone was on a flier, moving from ninth to fourth by lap 3, when Carpe set the fastest lap of the race. Unfortunately, the Aussie #12’s charge came to an end a lap later when he crashed at Siberia. The parochial crowd still had Kelso to cheer for, which they did as he continued to lead from Rueda.

Long lap penalties for Almansa and Ricardo Rossi (Rivacold Snipers Team Honda) were served early, while an error from Piqueras at the fast Turn 12 put him onto the grass and almost into the barriers. The youngster held on to his bucking KTM, but dropped from ninth to 23rd.

The two-horse race between Kelso and Rueda saw the Spaniard get his nose in front on lap 7, then keep it there, but the lead over Kelso never got beyond 0.3 seconds. Behind them, a blanket could be thrown over six riders, with the final podium place switching between Quiles, Fernandez, Carpe, Almansa, Lunetta and Esteban from lap to lap and even within a lap.

Rueda only broke away from Kelso on the final circuit, taking his tenth win of the year a fortnight after he wrapped up the Moto3 World Championship. Carpe greeted the chequered flag more than 12 seconds behind runner-up Kelso, while Esteban’s fourth place was his best finish in the category. Moto3 Rookie of the Year contender Quiles finished fifth, followed by Fernandez, Lunetta and Furusato. Almansa and Bertelle completed the Top 10, with Buchanan’s eleventh place his best result since ninth at the Sachsenring in July.

Moto3 Race – Top 5

Jose Antonio Rueda SPA KTM 33m39.062s
Joel Kelso AUS KTM +0.829s
Alvaro Carpe SPA KTM +12.638s
Joel Esteban SPA KTM +12.696s
Maximo Quiles SPA KTM +12.773s

RACE – Moto2

With the intermediate class being the only championship that was still live at Phillip Island, the intensity of racing reflected that, with some desperate moves and wily tactics served up over the 23 laps.

All that drama was happening behind Agius, who got the holeshot and never looked back. As Agius built his lead, a three-way battle between last year’s Moto3 World Champion Alonso and this year’s Moto2 championship contenders Moreira and Gonzalez was soon joined by Sasaki and Dixon.

On lap 3, an ambitious entry by Agius into Turn 1 almost handed Moreira the lead, but the Aussie prevailed, with Moreira then overwhelmed by Gonzalez and Alonso.

With Agius enjoying a lead of more than 1.2 seconds by lap 8, focus turned to Moreira and Gonzalez, with Alonso the spoiler in this trio. Alonso moved into second on lap 8, with Moreira getting past Gonzalez soon after. When Alonso ran wide at MG Corner on lap 10, Moreira and Gonzalez were now in a battle for second place.

By the race’s midpoint, the two championship contenders had broken clear, but Alonso and Arenas rallied soon after to close the gap. Agius’s lead was now more than 4 seconds, with the race his to lose. Moreira managed to slip past Gonzalez on lap 13, then hold a small advantage for the next half dozen laps, with fourth-placed Alonso ready to pounce on any mistake from the championship contenders. That he did on lap 18, passing Gonzalez, then moving into second ahead of Moreira a lap later. Gonzalez could see his championship lead slipping away when Dixon, then Holgado also made successful passes on the same lap. Holgado gave up fourth to Dixon on lap 21, with Baltus then coming into play and nipping at Gonzalez’s heels.

Clearly in front for the last lap, Agius cruised home to become the first Australian rider in Moto2 history to win their home grand prix. Alonso held on for second, with Moreira third, while seventh for Gonzalez behind Holgado, Dixon and Baltus meant the Spaniard’s championship lead was cut to just two points.

Moto2 Race – Top 5

Senna Agius AUS Kalex 35m00.085s
David Alonso COL Kalex +3.684s
Diogo Moreira BRA Kalex +3.721s
Daniel Holgado SPA Kalex +4.440s
Jake Dixon GBR Boscoscuro +4.451s

RACE – MotoGP

A woeful weekend for Bagnaia didn’t look like it was going to get any better ahead of Sunday’s 27-lap feature race. First, the two-time World Champion expressed visible frustration with his Desmosedici after the morning warm up, then was extremely downbeat on the Rider’s Parade, doubting he could even make the Top 10, let alone repeat his podium finish from last year.

At the front of the grid, Bezzecchi was emboldened by his Sprint win and translated that into the holeshot ahead of Fernandez, while Quartararo was swamped again, dropping back to fourth.

Aiming to build as much of a lead as possible before having to serve his two long lap penalties, Bezzecchi had a 1.13-second lead when he completed his first long lap on lap 5. That dropped him back to third, with the second one two laps later seeing him finish lap 7 in sixth place.

By this stage, Miller and Zarco had crashed out, at Turn 4 and Turn 1, respectively, with Quartararo falling prey to the Ducatis of Alex Marquez and Di Giannantonio; the latter advancing from tenth on the grid.

Out front, Fernandez seemed to be channelling Moto2 race winner, Senna Agius, riding on rails and building a lead over Acosta that stood at 1.67 seconds by lap 10. Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) crashed out of twelfth place on this lap, while a lap later, Bezzecchi would pass Quartararo as he slowly began to claw back his lost positions.

On lap 16, what seemed to be a safe second for Acosta came undone when Marquez made a pass, followed by Di Giannantonio three laps later. Bezzecchi was holding down fifth place by this stage, turning that into fourth on lap 22 as Acosta was losing rear grip. A miserable weekend for Bagnaia ended in the gravel at Siberia on lap 24, with Di Giannantonio now up to second ahead of Marquez.

On the penultimate lap, with a debut premier class win in his sights, Fernandez eased off, but still completed the final circuit 1.418 seconds ahead of Di Gainnantonio. Sixth to second proved a bridge too far for Bezzecchi, but third was still a mighty comeback from two long lap penalties. The result also moved him to third in the championship ahead of Bagnaia.

Marquez, Acosta and Marini finished a close line astern in 4-5-6, with 2022 Australian GP winner, Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) further back in seventh. Another Top 10 for Espargaro, behind Binder and Bastianini, was a good result, but eleventh at the flag was a disappointing finish for polesitter Quartararo.

Fernandez’s win was his first since joining the premier class in 2022, the first for Trackhouse Racing since they entered MotoGP and a milestone for Aprilia – their 300th win across all classes of grand prix racing.

The Liqui Moly Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix 2025 concluded with a total estimated crowd of 38,645 on Sunday and 91,245 across the three days - the largest attendance since 2012, and more than 10,000 up on last year’s total crowd.