BEZZECCHI LEADS PHILLIP ISLAND PRACTICE AS MARTIN SETS PERSONAL BEST

Jorge Martin made an encouraging start to his first Phillip Island weekend on an Aprilia, setting a personal best at the circuit and finishing Friday’s Practice fifth, 0.255 seconds behind team-mate Marco Bezzecchi. He said: “It was a good day – great for Aprilia, but good for me too. I was faster than ever before at Phillip Island – a new record, and a good feeling to start with.”

Martin also said the session helped him identify where he could improve. “Riding style makes a very big difference here, and I need to adapt better. I’m usually too aggressive and fast into the corners, and I get on the throttle too late, then lose more time afterwards. I’ll keep working on that. I’m very positive, because we’re already very close.”

The championship leader had ended FP1 ahead of Ai Ogura and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, the circuit lap-record holder. In the afternoon he ran without interruption, briefly moved to the front after the first restart, then settled into fifth. He was the slowest of Aprilia’s four riders in the top five, with Ogura fourth and 0.129s ahead of him. Marc Marquez, third, was also 0.129s in front. Martin leads Marquez by two points in the championship, the same narrow margin that separated them before the Indonesian Grand Prix.

Bezzecchi topped Friday afternoon’s twice-stopped Practice with a 1m26.775s lap, earning direct entry to Q2. The Aprilia rider recovered from an early collision with Alex Marquez at Turn 4, which damaged his fairing and prompted the first red flag. He fell at low speed and was briefly trapped beneath his bike before marshals freed him; both riders were unhurt, and stewards took no further action. Bezzecchi said turbulent air and a strong gust contributed to the contact as he caught Marquez through Turn 3 at more than 200km/h. “In the end it wasn’t very serious,” he said. A wallaby crossing the track caused the second stoppage.

Raul Fernandez was second, 0.072s back, with Marc Marquez third and Ogura fourth. Aprilia placed all four of its RS-GPs in the top five, making it the clear benchmark on Friday. Marquez, however, was the leading non-Aprilia rider on his factory Ducati. He had been fastest in FP1 and spent much of the afternoon working on longer runs as the forecast raised the prospect of changing conditions. After a difficult Indonesian round, he arrives just two points behind Martin and remains a threat if the weekend stays dry.

Alex Marquez was sixth despite a late crash. Enea Bastianini and Pedro Acosta took seventh and eighth, followed by Diogo Moreira and Fabio Di Giannantonio, the final direct Q2 qualifier. Francesco Bagnaia was 14th and must contest Q1, as must home rider Jack Miller, fastest Yamaha in 12th. Miller crashed in Practice after finishing third in FP1; he missed the top 10 by less than a tenth.

Friday’s sessions ran in fine weather, but storms are forecast for Saturday and Sunday, with wet tyres likely to be needed at some point. Qualifying and the sprint are scheduled for Saturday, followed by Sunday’s grand prix; a possible schedule change had been discussed, but the plan remained unchanged at the time of reporting. Martin said Aprilia had also identified areas for improvement, while Bezzecchi said he would adapt if the weather changed.