Miller flies then tumbles as Marquez snatches Phillip Island FP1

MotoGP 2026

Round 18 – Phillip Island – Friday Morning

MotoGP FP1

Marc Marquez left it until his final lap to deny Raul Fernandez and Jack Miller top spot in Friday morning’s opening MotoGP session at Phillip Island. A 1m27.985 after the chequered flag made the Ducati rider the only man under 1m28s, while Miller’s promising start to his home Grand Prix ended with his Yamaha cartwheeling through the Turn One gravel trap.

Fernandez and Iker Lecuona had already suffered front-end losses at Siberia, with the Trackhouse rider taking a particularly uncomfortable tumble through the gravel. Fernandez was nursing his hand as he collected himself, his already broken finger hardly appreciating that introduction to Phillip Island’s gravel.

It was not the birthday present the newly turned 26-year-old had been hoping for, although he subsequently returned to the circuit on his spare Aprilia.

Brad Binder provided another early drama around ten minutes into the session when his KTM produced a huge plume of white smoke through Turn One. The South African raised a hand and pulled clear of the racing line with an apparent engine problem.

The smoke raised immediate concerns about oil on the circuit, but officials kept the session running under yellow flags and no red flag followed. Binder was eventually able to return and work his way up to 11th.

Marco Bezzecchi established the early pace and lowered the benchmark to a 1m28.278 shortly after halfway through the 45-minute session. That remained the target with 15 minutes left, by which time eight riders had dipped into the 1m28s.

Fernandez then completed quite a turnaround by putting the Trackhouse Aprilia on top with a 1m28.210 with just over 11 minutes remaining. His return after the crash had included a fresh soft front and medium rear, whereas several of the other leading riders continued working with used tyres.

Miller gave the home crowd something to smile about with a 1m28.120 with less than four minutes remaining. The Australian had fitted fresh medium slicks front and rear for his final run, having used a soft front earlier in the session.

Those smiles quickly turned to grimaces when Miller lost the front at Turn One. He appeared to pick up pronounced front-end patter after entering slightly wide and running across the bumps, before sliding into the gravel. His Prima Pramac Yamaha somersaulted through the trap and looked decidedly worse for wear, although Jack was able to walk away.

Fernandez reclaimed top spot in the closing minute with a 1m28.033, but Marquez still had the final word. The Spaniard crossed the line after the clock had stopped to edge the Aprilia rider by 0.048 seconds, leaving Miller third, 0.135 seconds from the top.

Marquez’s tyre use made that late lap particularly noteworthy. His medium front and rear already had 13 laps on them when he began his final run, and he was fastest of all through Sectors One and Two. His actual best was also within 0.020 seconds of his theoretical ideal lap.

Bezzecchi finished fourth, just 0.007 seconds ahead of Alex Marquez, with Pedro Acosta sixth and Jorge Martin only another 0.004 seconds behind. Ai Ogura made it four Aprilias in the first eight, ahead of Fabio Quartararo and Fabio Di Giannantonio.

Johann Zarco was the leading Honda in 12th. Francesco Bagnaia finished 18th on the other factory Ducati, 1.677 seconds behind his team-mate, while Luca Marini completed only two laps as he struggled with the lingering effects of gastro from Indonesia. His sole flying lap left him at the foot of the timesheet.

Conditions were dry, with the air at 25 degrees and the track at 37 degrees. MotoGP returns at 3 pm local time for the one-hour Practice session that will decide direct entry to Q2 on Saturday.

Phillip Island MotoGP FP1 Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Top
1	M. Marquez	Duc	1m27.985	354.1
2	R. Fernandez	Apr	+0.048	350.6
3	J. Miller	Yam	+0.135	352.9
4	M. Bezzecchi	Apr	+0.293	355.2
5	A. Marquez	Duc	+0.300	354.1
6	P. Acosta	KTM	+0.449	356.4
7	J. Martin	Apr	+0.453	355.2
8	A. Ogura	Apr	+0.635	352.9
9	F. Quartararo	Yam	+0.803	350.6
10	F. Di Giannantonio	Duc	+0.967	348.4
11	B. Binder	KTM	+0.980	351.8
12	J. Zarco	Hon	+1.160	355.2
13	A. Rins	Yam	+1.212	350.6
14	E. Bastianini	KTM	+1.357	352.9
15	M. Viñales	KTM	+1.446	350.6
16	A. Fernandez	Yam	+1.572	345.0
17	I. Lecuona	Duc	+1.603	346.1
18	F. Bagnaia	Duc	+1.677	350.6
19	F. Morbidelli	Duc	+1.850	344.0
20	D. Moreira	Hon	+1.920	351.8
21	L. Marini	Hon	+6.048	335.4

Moto2 FP1

Senna Agius made an encouraging start to his home Grand Prix with third in Moto2 FP1, just 0.057 seconds behind Adrian Huertas as Italtrans claimed a one-two ahead of the Australian.

Izan Guevara set the early target with a 1m30.632 just over 12 minutes into the session, and that benchmark stood for around 20 minutes. Guevara then shaved it to 1m30.592, only for Agius to take over almost immediately with a 1m30.450 on his 14th lap. Daniel Muñoz responded with a 1m30.418 before team-mate Huertas settled the contest with a 1m30.393 on lap 18.

Agius completed 20 laps across two runs and backed up his best with a 1m30.555 two laps later. He was outright fastest through Sector One, while his best individual sectors added up to a theoretical 1m30.191, some 0.259 seconds quicker than his actual best. Huertas, by comparison, came within 0.015 seconds of joining up his own best sectors.

Guevara finished fourth, 0.139 seconds from the top, with Manuel Gonzalez fifth on the other Intact GP Kalex. Alex Escrig put the Forward sixth, ahead of Alonso Lopez, David Alonso, Mario Aji and Daniel Holgado. The first ten were covered by 0.479 seconds, while Ivan Ortola in 12th was only 0.538 seconds behind Huertas.

The session was held in dry conditions, with an air temperature of 24 degrees and a track temperature of 31 degrees.

Phillip Island Moto2 FP1 Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Top
1	A. Huertas	Kal	1m30.393	301.0
2	D. Muñoz	Kal	+0.025	296.0
3	S. Agius	Kal	+0.057	301.0
4	I. Guevara	Bos	+0.139	301.8
5	M. Gonzalez	Kal	+0.276	298.5
6	A. Escrig	For	+0.293	299.3
7	A. Lopez	Kal	+0.349	297.6
8	D. Alonso	Kal	+0.375	300.1
9	M. Aji	Kal	+0.464	296.0
10	D. Holgado	Kal	+0.479	298.5
11	T. Arbolino	Kal	+0.524	300.1
12	I. Ortola	Kal	+0.538	298.5
13	A. Canet	Bos	+0.813	295.2
14	T. Furusato	Kal	+0.860	296.8
15	B. Baltus	Kal	+0.918	296.8
16	A. Ferrandez	Bos	+0.956	301.0
17	A. Piqueras	Kal	+1.123	296.8
18	L. Lunetta	Bos	+1.147	299.3
19	J. Roberts	Kal	+1.245	298.5
20	Z. vd Goorbergh	Kal	+1.260	296.8
21	A. Sasaki	Kal	+1.272	294.4
22	J. Rueda	Kal	+1.482	297.6
23	F. Salac	Kal	+1.581	296.0
24	X. Zurutuza	For	+1.709	300.1
25	C. Veijer	Kal	+1.746	296.0
26	C. Vietti	Bos	+1.897	296.0
27	D. Öncü	Bos	+1.981	299.3
28	S. Garcia	Kal	+2.259	295.2

Moto3 FP1

Joel Kelso led repeatedly during the opening stages of Moto3 FP1 before finishing fourth, 0.244 seconds behind Maximo Quiles, who snatched the fastest time on his final lap.

Kelso worked the benchmark down to a 1m36.085 on lap six before Quiles became the first rider into the 1m35s with a 1m35.971. Brian Uriarte and Alvaro Carpe subsequently traded the lead during their second runs, with Uriarte seemingly in control after posting a 1m35.525.

Quiles lost his penultimate lap to a Turn 12 track-limits infringement, but responded with a 1m35.439 on his 15th and final lap to edge Uriarte by 0.086 seconds. Carpe completed the top three, just 0.021 seconds behind his Red Bull KTM Ajo team-mate.

Kelso recorded his 1m35.683 on lap 12 and finished with another strong lap of 1m35.747. The Australian was fastest of all through both Sectors Three and Four, and his best individual sectors totalled a theoretical 1m35.395, some 0.288 seconds quicker than his actual best.

Eddie O’Shea made it two GRYD Hondas in the top five with a 1m35.792 on his final lap, while also recording the highest top speed of the session at 257.3 km/h. Only 0.353 seconds covered the first five, with Joel Esteban sixth ahead of Veda Pratama, Adrian Cruces, Ryusei Yamanaka and David Muñoz.

Fellow Australian Marianos Nikolis, deputising for Cormac Buchanan at CODE Motorsports, completed 16 laps and finished 24th on a 1m38.164. Conditions were dry, with the air at 23 degrees and the track at 26 degrees.

Phillip Island Moto3 FP1 Results

Pos	Rider	Bike	Time/Gap	Top
1	M. Quiles	KTM	1m35.439	255.5
2	B. Uriarte	KTM	+0.086	250.2
3	A. Carpe	KTM	+0.107	249.1
4	J. Kelso	Hon	+0.244	255.5
5	E. O’Shea	Hon	+0.353	257.3
6	J. Esteban	KTM	+0.768	252.5
7	V. Pratama	Hon	+1.086	250.8
8	A. Cruces	KTM	+1.103	254.3
9	R. Yamanaka	KTM	+1.103	249.6
10	D. Muñoz	KTM	+1.129	250.2
11	G. Pini	Hon	+1.141	253.1
12	D. Almansa	KTM	+1.186	252.5
13	V. Perrone	KTM	+1.316	246.2
14	A. Fernandez	Hon	+1.370	254.3
15	S. Ogden	KTM	+1.388	255.5
16	R. Moodley	KTM	+1.597	251.4
17	M. Bertelle	KTM	+1.637	252.5
18	R. Salmela	KTM	+1.827	250.8
19	K. Singhapong	Hon	+1.934	250.2
20	M. Morelli	KTM	+1.937	256.1
21	C. O’Gorman	Hon	+2.170	255.5
22	Z. Mitani	Hon	+2.599	250.2
23	J. Rios	Hon	+2.615	250.2
24	M. Nikolis	KTM	+2.725	251.4
25	L. Rammerstorfer	Hon	+3.021	247.9
26	H. Danish	KTM	+3.182	243.5

2026 MotoGP Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	J. Martin	355
2	M. Marquez	353
3	M. Bezzecchi	309
4	A. Ogura	259
5	P. Acosta	258
6	F. Di Giannantonio	245
7	R. Fernandez	236
8	A. Marquez	172
9	F. Bagnaia	166
10	F. Aldeguer	125
11	E. Bastianini	122
12	L. Marini	108
13	B. Binder	104
14	F. Quartararo	74
15	D. Moreira	74
16	F. Morbidelli	59
17	J. Zarco	51
18	J. Mir	33
19	J. Miller	28
20	A. Rins	25
21	T. Razgatlioglu	18
22	M. Viñales	12
23	I. Lecuona	9
24	A. Fernandez	6
25	P. Espargaro	5
26	S. Chantra	3
27	T. Nakagami	3
28	C. Crutchlow	0
29	J. Folger	0
30	L. Savadori	0
31	M. Pirro	0
32	A. Espargaro	0

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Moto2 Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	Manuel GONZALEZ	265.5
2	Izan GUEVARA	260
3	Ivan ORTOLA	191.5
4	Daniel HOLGADO	170
5	David ALONSO	166
6	Senna AGIUS	165
7	Filip SALAC	153
8	Celestino VIETTI	133
9	Alonso LOPEZ	125.5
10	Daniel MUÑOZ	83
11	Tony ARBOLINO	82.5
12	Collin VEIJER	80.5
13	Alex ESCRIG	63
14	Barry BALTUS	60
15	Deniz ÖNCÜ	47.5
16	Joe ROBERTS	44
17	Jose Antonio RUEDA	43
18	Adrian HUERTAS	42
19	Luca LUNETTA	27
20	Ayumu SASAKI	24
21	Alberto FERRANDEZ	17.5
22	Aron CANET	17.5
23	Taiyo FURUSATO	17
24	Zonta VD GOORBERGH	14
25	Sergio GARCIA	11
26	Angel PIQUERAS	4
27	Mario AJI	3

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Moto3 Championship Standings

Pos	Rider	Points
1	Maximo QUILES	351
2	David ALMANSA	219
3	Brian URIARTE	203
4	Alvaro CARPE	191
5	Marco MORELLI	146
6	Valentin PERRONE	123
7	Veda PRATAMA	115
8	Matteo BERTELLE	109
9	Hakim DANISH	107
10	Rico SALMELA	92
11	Adrian CRUCES	83
12	Guido PINI	78
13	Joel ESTEBAN	73
14	Adrian FERNANDEZ	71
15	Casey O’GORMAN	70
16	Joel KELSO	67
17	Eddie O’SHEA	65
18	David MUÑOZ	61
19	Jesus RIOS	50
20	Ryusei YAMANAKA	44
21	Scott OGDEN	36
22	David GONZALEZ	7
23	Marcos URIARTE	6
24	Cormac BUCHANAN	5
25	Leo RAMMERSTORFER	4
26	Zen MITANI	2
27	Ruche MOODLEY	1
28	Kiattisak SINGHAPONG	1

2026 MotoGP Calendar

Rnd	Date	Event	Circuit
1	01 Mar	Thai	Chang International Circuit
2	22 Mar	Brazil*	Autodromo Internacional Ayrton Senna
3	29 Mar	US	Circuit of the Americas
4	26 Apr	Spain**	Circuito de Jerez-Angel Nieto
5	10 May	France	Le Mans
6	17 May	Catalonia	Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya
7	31 May	Italy	Autodromo Internazionale del Mugello
8	07 Jun	Hungary	Balaton Park Circuit
9	21 Jun	Czech	Automotodrom Brno
10	28 Jun	Netherlands	TT Circuit Assen
11	12 Jul	Germany	Sachsenring
12	09 Aug	GB	Silverstone Circuit
13	30 Aug	Aragon	MotorLand Aragon
14	13 Sep	San Marino	Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli
15	20 Sep	Austria	Red Bull Ring-Spielberg
16	04 Oct	Japan	Mobility Resort Motegi
17	11 Oct	Indonesia	Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit
18	25 Oct	Australia	Phillip Island
19	01 Nov	Malaysia	Petronas Sepang International Circuit
20	08 Nov	Qatar	Lusail International Circuit
21	22 Nov	Portugal	Autodromo Internacional do Algarve
22	29 Nov	Valencia	Circuit Ricardo Tormo

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