Sunday Guide for the Michelin Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix

MotoGP
Marc Márquez has qualified on pole position for the fifth successive time at Phillip Island, equalling Casey Stoner who did it between 2008 and 2012 at this track.

Marc Márquez has qualified on pole position for the sixth time this year so far. This is Márquez’ 51st pole position in the premier class, four less than Valentino Rossi, and the 79th of his Grand Prix career.

This is Honda’s 12th pole position at Phillip Island in the MotoGP class since 2002. On their 11 previous pole positions at this track, Honda riders have won five times, twice with Marc Márquez in both 2015 and last year.

Maverick Viñales has qualified in second, equalling his best qualifying result of the season from the Americas (he started from pole position but following a penalty for Marc Márquez).

Completing the front row on the grid, Johann Zarco is in third as the top Independent Team rider. This is his first back-to-back front row starts since Spain/France earlier this year.

With Maverick Viñales and Johann Zarco, this is the second time this year there are two Yamaha riders on the front row on the grid, along with Italy.

Heading the second row on the grid for the second successive year in Phillip Island is Andrea Iannone, which is his best qualifying result since he was also fourth in Italy earlier this year.

Álex Rins has qualified in fifth on the grid, equalling his best qualifying result since he stepped up to the premier class of Grand Prix racing last year.

Jack Miller starts his home round from sixth, which is the third successive year he starts from the second row on the grid at Phillip Island.

Valentino Rossi, who has stood on the podium 15 times on his 18 previous premier class visits to Phillip Island, starts from seventh on the grid for the second successive year in Australia.

Second-placed Ducati rider, Danilo Petrucci has qualified in eighth, which is his best qualifying result since he was seventh in Aragón.

Andrea Dovizioso, who crashed out of the race at Motegi last week, starts from ninth, which is his worst qualifying result since he was also ninth in Valencia last year on the eve of the final showdown for the crown.

Following Cal Crutchlow withdrawing from the Australian GP, Hafizh Syahrin’s time was enough to join Q2 directly for the first time in his rookie season in the MotoGP™ class. He’s qualified in tenth on the grid, which is the best qualifying result for any of the five rookies this year.

This is the first time there are four Yamaha riders on the four front rows on the grid since Assen last year. There were four Yamahas within the top 12 in qualifying at Silverstone last year, but Jonas Folger didn’t line up on the grid following a heavy crash in Warm Up.

Pol Espargaró has qualified 11th as the top KTM rider on the grid, which is the best qualifying result for the Austrian manufacturer since Bradley Smith was the eighth fastest at Silverstone this year.

After joining Q2 from Q1 for the third time in 2018, Alvaró Bautista qualified 12th on the grid as he replaces the injured Jorge Lorenzo in the Ducati Team.

In Q1 for the sixth time this year, Dani Pedrosa has qualified in 18th on the grid, which is his worst qualifying since he was also 18th in Assen earlier this year.

Moto2
Mattia Pasini starts from pole position for the eighth time in the Moto2 class, equalling Sam Lowes in fifth place on the list of riders with the most pole positions in the class. He will be aiming to win for the fifth time on what is his 146th start in the intermediate category.

Mattia Pasini’s pole position is the 31st for an Italian rider in the Moto2™ class, half the number of Spanish riders (62).

Mattia Pasini (33 years 75 days old) is the oldest rider to qualify on pole position in the Moto2™ class, beating his previous record from Germany earlier this year.

Marcel Schrötter has qualified in second on the grid, which is his sixth front row start of the year and the eighth overall in Moto2.

Xavi Vierge has qualified in third, which is his best qualifying result since he was second in France earlier this year.

Dominique Aegerter heads the second row on the grid and is the top KTM rider. This is Aegerter’s best qualifying result since he was the third-fastest qualifier in Spain last year. He also qualified in third at Misano last year but was later disqualified from the event for technical infringement.

Brad Binder, who stood on the podium for the first time in Moto2™ last year at Phillip Island, has qualified in fifth on the grid, which is his best qualifying result since he was on pole position in Aragon earlier this year.

Fabio Quartararo, who was disqualified from his Japanese GP win for a technical infringement, starts from sixth and it’s the sixth time this year he’s started from the first two rows.

Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia has qualified in the 16th, which is his worst qualifying result since he was 17th at the Australian GP last season.

Winner for the first time in Moto2™ last year as he took KTM’s first win in the class, Miguel Oliveira starts from 20th on the grid, which is his worst qualifying result since he was 23rd at Silverstone this year. Oliveira is Bagnaia’s sole rival for the title.

Moto3
Jorge Martín has qualified on pole position for the tenth time this year and the 19th in his Grand Prix career, beating his own record of the most pole positions in one Moto3 season from last year. The last rider to have qualified on pole more than 10 times in one season in the lightweight category is Marc Márquez back in 2010 in the 125cc class.

This is the 13th pole position for a Honda rider since Qatar, which is two less than last year.

Darryn Binder, who stood on the podium for the first time in his Grand Prix career last week in Japan, has qualified in second on the grid as the highest-placed KTM rider. It’s Binder’s best qualifying result on what is the 63rd start in the Moto3 class.

Ayumu Sasaki completes the front row of the grid, equalling his best qualifying result from Italy this year. Three full-time Japanese riders have qualified on the front row this season: Sasaki here and at Mugello, Tatsuki Suzuki in Barcelona and Kazuki Masaki in Thailand.

Heading the second row on the grid is Jakub Kornfeil, which is his best qualifying result since he was on pole position in Brno this year.

Gabriel Rodrigo, who was on pole position last week at Motegi, has qualified in fifth on the grid, which is the sixth time this year he has started from the first two rows on the grid.

Phillip Öttl has qualified in sixth, which is his best qualifying result since he was fourth fastest in Brno earlier this year.

Second in the Championship, Marco Bezzecchi has qualified 15th, which is his worst qualifying result since he qualified 28th in Valencia last year.