It's game on at the MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix as Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) made his intentions clear with a dominant qualifying performance that saw him destroy his previous lap record. The Spaniard's 1:27.246 resulted in him taking back-to-back pole positions as he went four-tenths clear of the chasing pack. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was the best of the rest in P2 as he put his factory KTM machine in the middle of the front row. The battle is well and truly on in the title fight as Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) put in a stellar job to scrap his way through Q1 to take the final front-row spot in Q2. The Italian fancies his chances ahead of the Grand Prix, meaning an Australian GP barnstormer could very well be on the cards.
The cream rises to the top in Q1
The pressure was on once again for reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) as he faced 15 minutes of Q1 action to decide the fate of his weekend in Phillip Island.
The Italian rose to the occasion as he did exactly what was needed of him, taking the top spot by 0.077s to promote himself to Q2 ahead of Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) who joined him in the top two.
Martin delivers a sucker punch
Tensions were high heading into Q2 with it all to play for in the 2023 MotoGP™ title battle. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) came out of the blocks with a point to prove as he put the hammer down from the off. The Martinator sat at the top of the pile from the very beginning until he pulled out his phenomenal lap to take an important pole position in Phillip Island.
'After you'
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 21, 2023
'No, after you. I insist'
Let the mind games begin 😈#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/ZSDXQ6lTMi
With no one able to get anywhere near the Spaniard's time, it was KTM's Brad Binder who came out on top in the fight for the scraps. The flying laps came in with the chequered flag drawing nearer but the South African held strong to hold onto a front-row spot ahead of Bagnaia.
Plenty of strong competition in the mix
Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) will front the 2nd row of the grid after finishing just 0.130s away from the front row. The Catalan will be joined by Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) and Fabio Di Giannantionio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) on row two with just 0.075s covering the trio.
Marc Marquez was up to his usual antics in Q2 after fighting his way through Q1. The Spaniard latched himself onto the back of Bagnaia as he searched for the perfect tow. The best the eight-time Champ could muster was 7th place as he's set to head row three ahead of Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).
The action has only just begun at the MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix as points are now up for grabs at Phillip Island. Make sure to tune in as the story unfolds for the Australian Grand Prix at 15:10 local time (GMT +11)!
| 1 | Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) | 1:27.246 |
| 2 | Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) | +0.416 |
| 3 | Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) | +0.468 |
| 4 | Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) | +0.598 |
| 5 | Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) | +0.657 |
| 6 | Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) | +0.673 |
| 7 | Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) | +0.766 |
| 8 | Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) | +0.828 |
| 9 | Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) | +0.847 |
| 10 | Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) | +0.875 |
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