Martin seizes Australian GP pole with new lap record

Phillip Island [Australia], October 15 : Jorge Martin has claimed pole position for the Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix in emphatic fashion. The Prima Pramac Racing rider, who had never ridden a Moto GP bike at Phillip Island before this weekend, broke Jorge Lorenzo's All Time Lap Record which dates all the way back to 2013 when he set a 1:27.767 on his Ducati Desmosedici.
Marc Marquez of the Repsol Honda Team was also under lap-record pace in taking second in Q2, with Francesco Bagnaia of the Ducati Lenovo Team also on the front row and therefore the first of the title contenders. In fact, the top three in the Championship are third, fourth, and fifth, with Aleix Espargaro of Aprilia Racing to head up Row 2 and Fabio Quartararo of Monster Energy Yamaha Moto GP set to grid up right next to him.
Indian fans can catch all the action from Animoca Brands Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix Main Race live on Eurosport from 05:15 Hrs (05:15 am IST) onwards on Sunday. The Eurosport channel can now be streamed on the discovery+ app.
Martin had been on the pace as soon as Q2 started, punching out a 1:28.112 which was the fastest lap of the weekend to that point. He would hold onto that honour for just a lap as Bagnaia clocked a 1:28.054 next time through, and they were the top two at the end of the opening runs, with Quartararo third on a 1:28.174. Marc Marquez sat fifth on a 1:28.313, having been forced into one of his trademark front-end saves exiting 'MG' (Turn 10) on his second flying lap which saw him veer onto the grass.
With the second runs on in earnest, Johann Zarco jumped to the top with a 1:28.007 before Martin made it a Prima Pramac Racing one-two when he knocked his teammate off his perch with the first lap of Phillip Island that was quicker than Lorenzo's 1:27.899 in 2013. Quartararo moved back into third with a 1:28.027 before Aleix Espargaro vaulted himself into second place despite a 1:27.957 despite a big headshake exiting the final corner.
Meanwhile, Marc Marquez was among the train which had formed behind Bagnaia for the final few minutes of the session. With the chequered flag about to come out, Bagnaia moved up to second on a 1:27.953 but was beaten almost immediately by the Honda rider in his slipstream, who set a 1:27.780 which was just 0.013 seconds away from the pole! That made for a top four of Martin, Marc Marquez, Bagnaia, and Aleix Espargaro, with Quartararo edging back up to fifth thanks to a 1:27.973 on his final lap.
Zarco would be classified sixth after getting himself out of Q1, ahead of Luca Marini of Mooney VR46 Racing Team on a 1:28.029, home hero Jack Miller of Ducati Lenovo Team) on a 1:28.116, and Marco Bezzecchi of Mooney VR46 Racing Team on a 1:28.185. Row 4 will be the other Q1 graduate in Alex Rins of Team Suzuki Ecstar from Alex Marquez of LCR Honda Castrol and Maverick Vinales of Aprilia Racing.
Back in Q1, Zarco had been quickest at the end of the first runs on a 1:28.498, with Enea Bastianini of Gresini Racing Moto GP second on a 1:28.647. When Joan Mir of Team Suzuki Ecstar came back out, he set a 1:28.492 to go top before Pol Espargaro of the Repsol Honda Team bettered that with a 1:28.392. Mir ran off at Siberia the next time around, then both he and Pol Espargaro pitted with two minutes remaining.
They, therefore, faced a nervous wait with Zarco, among others, still to go for their final time attacks. After the chequered flag out, the Frenchman reclaimed the ascendancy with a 1:28.132 and towed Alex Rins of Team Suzuki Ecstar around to a 1:28.347, meaning it would be those two going through to Q2. Bastianini looked to have at least secured 13th on the grid with his final lap before it was cancelled due to the presence of a yellow flag. He is also involved in an investigation regarding possible impeding but, if anything, the Italian was on the wrong end of it when he happened upon Miguel Oliveira of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing at Lukey Heights on his final lap.
Row 5 is therefore headed up by Pol Espargaro, from Mir and Bastianini, who reverted to his first-run 1:28.647. Brad Binder of Red Bull KTM Factory Racing qualified 16th and will be joined on Row 6 by WithU Yamaha RNF Moto GP Team duo Cal Crutchlow and Darryn Binder. The rest of the grid, as it stands, will be Australian Remy Gardner of Tech3 KTM Factory Racing, Fabio Di Giannantonio of Gresini Racing Moto GP, Oliveira, Raul Fernandez of Tech3 KTM Factory Racing, Franco Morbidelli of Monster Energy Yamaha Moto GP and Tetsuta Nagashima of LCR Honda Idemitsu.
After a record-breaking Q2, the stage is set for an awesome Sunday afternoon as Moto GP lights up Phillip Island again. Warm Up starts at 09:40 before the 27-lap race itself gets underway at 14:00 (GMT +11)!