Martin pips Marquez to pole, MotoGP title trio start together

Pramac Ducati rider Jorge Martin took pole position for MotoGP’s Australian Grand Prix at Phillip Island, as the three leading title contenders qualified right together.

Martin produced the new all-time MotoGP lap record of the iconic venue, a 1m27.767s, in the closing minutes of the second segment – taking the record from three-time champion Jorge Lorenzo, who had held it since qualifying in 2013.

It made Martin only the second rider this season, after Ducati stablemate Francesco Bagnaia, to record more than two pole positions.

Practice pacesetter Marc Marquez tucked in behind Bagnaia on both of his runs but had to pull off a spectacular trademark save at Turn 10 to keep his Honda upright early on.

LOOK at that front wheel! 😮

It's in Tasmania!!! @marcmarquez93 replicates his RIDICULOUS 2019 save! 🤯#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/86VXXJYXgs

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 15, 2022

He shrugged it off to end up second, just 0.013s off Martin and 0.173s up on Bagnaia, who completed the first row.

Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro ran behind team-mate Maverick Vinales late on in Q2 and was potentially compromised by that out of the final corner, but still wound up fourth, 0.004s behind Bagnaia and 0.016s up on championship leader Fabio Quartararo of Yamaha.

Friday standout Johann Zarco (Pramac Ducati) escaped Q1 and eventually took sixth, followed by Luca Marini (VR46 Ducati) and local factory Ducati rider Jack Miller, who remains in outside championship contention.

Marco Bezzecchi (VR46 Ducati), Alex Rins (Suzuki), Alex Marquez (LCR Honda) and Vinales completed the Q2 order, the younger Marquez having fallen in the pre-qualifying FP4.

Gresini Ducati rider Enea Bastianini, 39 points off the championship lead, mounted a late push for Q2 but came up four hundredths short relative to Rins’s lap, which was recorded in Q1 pacesetter Zarco’s tow.

Bastianini had encountered the slowing KTM of Miguel Oliveira on his final lap, with the incident placed under investigation. But whatever impact Oliveira’s presence had on Bastianini’s laptime was then rendered swiftly irrelevant as the Italian had the effort deleted due to yellow flags of an unspecified origin.

Under investigation! 🚨@_moliveira88 may have impeded @Bestia23 on his final lap 🛑#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/gQ7F7uZ691

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 15, 2022

Honda’s Pol Espargaro therefore inherited 13th on the grid, followed by Suzuki’s Joan Mir – competing in his first qualifying since his Red Bull Ring injury, and left to rue an off at the Siberia corner.

Bastianini is now set to conclude row five, with the lead KTM of Brad Binder leading off row six.

Of Quartararo’s three fellow Yamaha riders, RNF’s Cal Crutchlow led the way in placing 17th, while works team-mate Franco Morbidelli was a concerning 23rd.

This matched the Italian’s career-worst MotoGP qualifying, with Morbidelli a second off the Q1 pace and only ahead of LCR Honda stand-in Tetsuta Nagashima.

Qualifying Results