P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Day one of MotoGP’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island featured scares for championship contenders Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia, a complete washout of the first practice session and a red flag for a stray goose – plus Marc Marquez going fastest ahead of brother Alex.
“Day one of MotoGP’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island was eventful, with Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia facing scares, the first practice session being a complete washout due to rain, and a red flag incident involving a stray goose. Marc Marquez set the fastest time, with his brother Alex close behind. The rain intensified during the Moto2 session, causing delays in the MotoGP session start.
After two hours of delays, the MotoGP session was eventually canceled due to the heavy rain, with an extra 10 minutes added to the Saturday morning session for compensation. The weather conditions drastically improved by Friday afternoon, allowing teams and Michelin to breathe a sigh of relief.
Title contenders Martin and Bagnaia had challenging starts to the session, with both facing the risk of having to go through Q1 due to their initial struggles. Despite some setbacks, both riders managed to improve their positions during their runs, with Martin narrowly avoiding incidents with other track elements.
Marquez dominated the session, followed closely by his brother Alex, Marco Bezzecchi, and Maverick Vinales. Brad Binder was the only KTM rider to secure a spot in Q2 after last-minute crashes affected other riders like Jack Miller.”
