ALEX MARQUEZ SAYS BEZZECCHI MISJUDGED THEIR PHILLIP ISLAND COLLISION

Alex Marquez said Marco Bezzecchi misjudged an attempted pass after the pair collided during MotoGP practice at Phillip Island, bringing the session to a halt.

The incident happened under braking for Turn 4. Marquez’s Ducati and Bezzecchi’s Aprilia made contact, tearing off part of the Aprilia’s fairing. Bezzecchi fell at low speed and had to be helped out from beneath his motorcycle by marshals. Stewards investigated but issued no penalty. Marquez had indicated on track that he did not consider himself responsible.

“I was on my normal line and at my normal pace,” the Gresini Ducati rider said. “I think he wanted to pass me there. He was faster than me, but he misjudged the situation. These things can happen; it’s okay for me.”

Bezzecchi later set the fastest time, while Marquez finished Friday sixth and secured direct passage to Q2. He also crashed at Turn 4 near the end of the session, while trying to improve his time. Marquez described it as a relatively gentle fall and joked that he had chosen “the best possible place” to crash at Phillip Island. He said he had made a small mistake at Turn 10 on the previous lap, too, while changing direction.

Despite the late fall, Marquez was pleased with his pace and comfort on the bike. He said direct entry to Q2 was especially valuable because conditions were expected to change significantly on Saturday, making the competitive picture difficult to predict.

Aprilia had dominated the dry running, placing four riders in the top five; Marc Marquez was the only non-Aprilia among them, in third. Alex Marquez cautioned that rain could transform the order. Asked whether Aprilia would remain strong in the wet, he said he did not know and hoped the field would be more evenly matched, adding that results in those conditions would depend heavily on each rider’s feel.