REPORT – 2019 Pramac Generac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix - Part 1 Pre Racing

Words: Mike Ryan

Photos: Russell Colvin, Michelin, MotoGP.com

Weather often comes into play at the Australian round of MotoGP and this year’s Pramac Generac Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix was no exception. While it may have robbed the fans of some action on the Saturday of the race weekend, it presented a packed MotoGP programme on race day Sunday.

As well as adding MotoGP qualifying, that ‘Super Sunday’ programme included the possibility of new champions being crowned in Moto2 and Moto3, while Marc Marquez, the recently crowned champion in MotoGP, had the opportunity to further stamp his authority on what’s been a record-breaking season.

Despite the weather, fans still turned out in force for the 2019 Australian round, with an estimated total three-day attendance of 82,850 being slightly up on last year, which in turn was the best total since 2012.

Pre-Island State of Play

As Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) had already wrapped up this year’s MotoGP championship two rounds earlier at Buriram, the Australian round would not be pivotal, but taking the ‘glass half full’ approach meant that Marquez was now off the leash and could go all out in pursuit of race wins.

There were a long list of riders aiming to stop him, though, led by last year’s Phillip Island race winner, Monster Energy Yamaha’s Maverick Vinales. Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team) and Alex Rins (Team Suzuki Ecstar) couldn’t be discounted, either; the latter following his debut MotoGP victory at CotA earlier this year, followed by an epic win over Marquez at Silverstone in August.

Many eyes were also on MotoGP rookie, Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), who had scored four pole positions and six podiums coming to the Australian round, including a close second to Marquez the week before at Motegi. Could the fast young Frenchman break through for his first MotoGP race win here?

While a Quartararo win would have ignited the tail end of the season, most of the Aussie crowd were hoping for a Jack Miller victory. Enjoying his best season in MotoGP to date, Miller had secured three podiums this year coming into Phillip Island and a newfound consistency, too. The threat of rain on race day could also boost the Pramac Racing rider’s chances.

Outsiders for the race day win included 2016 winner Cal Crutchlow (LCR Honda Castrol) and Valentino Rossi (Movistar Yamaha MotoGP), who’d be making his 400th GP start at Phillip Island. While he remains a crowd favourite, Rossi is a shadow of his former self, without a race win in more than two years and, unfortunately, not looking like a race winner anymore, either.

Speaking of underperforming, Jorge Lorenzo arrived at Phillip Island near the end of what’s been a horror year on the Repsol Honda RC213V. With a best race finish of eleventh, compounded by a serious injury at Assen that saw him miss four races, Lorenzo arrived at Phillip Island amidst rumours he’d be announcing his retirement at the Australian round. When questioned, Lorenzo swatted away the speculation, and while he did indeed announce the end of his MotoGP career at Valencia two rounds later (see News story), the Spaniard said he only made the decision to hang up the leathers after the Sepang round.

The surprise addition to the MotoGP paddock at Phillip Island was Johann Zarco. After an acrimonious split with KTM, Zarco got the call-up to replace the injured Takaaki Nakagami at LCR Honda for the remainder of the 2019 season. For his first ride on a Honda, the Frenchman would no doubt be hoping for a better result at Phillip Island this time than the high-speed Turn 1 crash he experienced last year!

In Moto2, the championship was very much alive, with Alex Marquez (EG 00 Marc VDS) leading veteran Tom Luthi (Dynavolt Intact GP) by 36 points, but there were at least four other riders with a mathematical chance of taking the intermediate class crown, including Augusto Fernandez (Flexbox HP 40) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Ajo), who was building momentum with four podiums from the past six races.
Like Miller in MotoGP, Remy Gardner (ONEXOX TKKR SAG Team) was enjoying his best Moto2 season yet this year, with a breakthrough podium at Termas de Rio Hondo, a fourth place at Silverstone and other points-scoring finishes. 

While Gardner was under pressure to perform at his home round, the heat in Moto2 was really on Alex Marquez. Could he join his brother as a champion in 2019? The equations were many and varied, but basically required the Spaniard to finish several places ahead of both Luthi and Fernandez. Even if he won the race, Marquez needed Fernandez to place third or worse and Luthi fifth or worse to make the 2019 Moto2 title a certainty.

In Moto3, Lorenzo Dalla Porta (Leopard Racing Honda) had a much simpler equation: win the race and he’d win the championship, regardless of where his two closest rivals finished. With a 47-point lead over Aron Canet (Sterilgarda Max Racing KTM) and a 68-point gap to Tony Arbolino (VNE Snipers Honda), Dalla Porta already had one hand on the trophy, so could afford to finish even mid-pack and secure the championship.

After some late call-ups last year, this year’s wildcards were announced well in advance, consisting of Aussie Yanni Shaw and Kiwi Rogan Chandler, both supported by Double Six Motorsport and running Kalex-framed KTM Moto3 bikes.

Off track, racing talent from past generations spotted in the paddock at Phillip Island included Alex Criville, Freddie Spencer, Franco Uncini, Fausto Gresini and the legend himself, Giacomo Agostini.

Special guests spotted in the paddock included Olympians Sally Pearson, Kieren Perkins and Mack Horton, radio personality Dave Hughes, actor Eric Bana and celebrity chef Matt Moran.

Practice and Qualifying – Wild is the Wind

The first day’s practice sessions at Phillip Island saw riders deal with wet and dry conditions, but in terms of rain, Friday would prove to be the worst of it.

In MotoGP, Vinales dominated the opening day’s sessions, including the wet and wintry Free Practice 1. Fastest in FP2 as well, Vinales continued the dose in Saturday’s FP3 and it was only in the curtailed FP4 that Marquez finally got the better of the Yamaha rider.

The reason for that curtailment was high winds impacting the circuit. These winds were blamed for Miguel Oliveira (Red Bull KTM Tech 3)’s 300km/h crash at Turn 1 that ended his weekend.

Second fastest in FP1, Miller remained inside the Top 5 for the most part, while Rossi and Dovizioso were also near the pointy end. After a crash in FP1, Quartararo slid up and down the timesheets, while Zarco adapted quickly to the 2018-spec Honda RC213V, recording his best result of sixth in the shortened FP4 session.

With no sign of improvement in the gusty conditions, a decision was made late on Saturday to move MotoGP qualifying to Sunday morning. This change to the schedule meant there’d be no national support races on Sunday, nor would there be a MotoGP rider’s parade; the latter replaced by a parade of past champions who conveniently happened to be at the circuit on other duties.

Before the conditions got worse on Saturday, Moto3 and Moto2 were able to complete their qualifying sessions, with Marcos Ramirez (Leopard Racing Honda) taking his first ever Moto3 pole position with a 1’38.9876 lap, while Jorge Navarro saluted in Moto2, his 1’33.565 lap an impressive result in wet and blustery conditions. Navarro’s pole was his first since Le Mans in May.

Fastest in Moto3’s FP sessions on Friday, Canet qualified second, followed by last year’s Moto3 race winner at Phillip Island, Albert Arenas (Gaviota Angel Nieto Team KTM). Champion-in-waiting Dalla Porta qualified in sixth, alongside John McPhee (Petronas Sprinta Racing) and Kaito Toba (Honda Team Asia) on the second row. Chandler qualified 26th, while Shaw would take the final grid position after leaking coolant from his KTM led to several crashes in FP3.

In Moto2, Binder was second fastest behind Navarro, with Motegi race winner Luca Marini (Sky Racing Team VR46) completing the front row. Like Dalla Porta in Moto3, Marquez qualified in sixth place, behind Moto2 rookies Fabio Di Giannantonio (MB Conveyors Speed Up) and Jorge Martin (Red Bull KTM Ajo). 

After a heavy crash in FP1, Gardner recovered to finish 13th in qualifying, on the fifth row of the grid, while his team mate Tetsuta Nagashima would start from 15th due to a penalty from the previous round. Similarly, Sam Lowes (Federal Oil Gresini Moto2) was carrying a Motegi penalty that saw him forced to start from last on the grid, despite a qualifying time that would have had him in sixth.

When MotoGP qualifying finally got underway on Sunday morning, Quartararo and Andrea Iannone (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) progressed from Q1 to Q2, where the former improved to ultimately qualify second behind Vinales, who clocked a 1’28.492 lap in the improved conditions. Completing the front row of the grid was Marquez.

Row 2 was made up of Rossi, Danilo Petrucci (Ducati Team) and Cruchlow, with Miller on the third row in ninth place, alongside Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing Team Gresini) and Iannone.

Dovizioso was an uncharacteristic tenth, with Zarco 14th and Lorenzo 19th.

Less than an hour after MotoGP qualifying finished, it was time to go racing…