MotoGP Australia Results, Race | Rins takes sensational win, Quartararo crashes

For round 18 of the 2022 MotoGP World Championship, the season arrives in Australia. This page will be updated with MotoGP Australia results throughout the weekend.

Overview

• FP1 - Johann Zarco starts weekend out on top on Friday morning as Fabio Quartararo misses top 10

• FP2 - Zarco completes day one domination as Miller misses provisional Q2 overnight

• FP3 - Marquez ends practice on top as first 17 within 0.6 seconds

• Qualifying - Jorge Martin breaks lap record on way to first pole since Texas

• Race - Rins wins dramatic battle royale as Quartararo crashes out

Race

The dry weather that had dominated the MotoGP weekend in Australia continued on Sunday for the race, which saw championship drama throughout and a victory for Alex Rins.

Although Sunday started wet in morning warm up, the track dried throughout the day and was ready for slicks by the time the Moto3 race came around. For MotoGP, the situation was the same as Jorge Martin looked to take his first win of the season from pole position.

At the start, it was a holeshot for Jorge Martin, while Francesco Bagnaia recovered from a bad launch to exit turn four in third place, ahead of Aleix Espargaro and Fabio Quartararo.

By the end of lap two, there was a break away pair at the front, with Martin and Marc Marquez enjoying a half-second gap back to Bagnaia in third, while Jack Miller was making quick progress up to fourth by the end of lap three.

On lap four, Quartararo made a critical error, running wide at turn four and dropping outside of the top 20.

Although there was stability at the front with Martin and Marquez, it was the usual Phillip Island chaos behind. Positions were changing almost corner-by-corner. But, Alex Rins was making progress, and by lap eight he had passed Bagnaia for third.

Jack Miller's race was over on lap nine, when he was hit hard by an out-of-control Alex Marquez at turn four, ironically the corner that was named after him on Saturday.

The top two was penetrated for the first time on lap 11, when Alex Rins passed Marquez at turn one. One corner later, Fabio Quartararo crashed out to the disappointment of Yamaha.

Finally, on lap 14, the lead changed. Alex Rins completed a pass at turn three, Bagnaia came up to second , and Marquez passed Martin for third. By the end of the lap, Marco Bezzecchi was through to fourth, past Martin, too.

Rins' time at the front lasted only one lap or so, as Bagnaia used the power of the Ducati to hit the front on the straight at the start of lap 15. Marc Marquez sensed the danger, and passed Rins at turn four.

Rins was back to the front on lap 20, simply out-driving Bagnaia out of the Sourthern Loop at turn two, while Marquez was beaten back to fourth by Bezzecchi. When Bagnaia re-passed Rins at turn one, Bezzecchi came through, too, and then Marquez.

Fighting between Marquez, Rins and Martin on lap 22 saw Bagnaia and Bezzecchi create a small margin for themselves, but that gap was bridged quite quickly. By this point, it as difficult to tell whether Bagnaia was still controlling the pace, or whether he was pushing.

Bezzecchi's defence was breached with three laps to go. Rins out-drove him as he had previously out-driven Bagnaia, and Marquez was then through at turn four.

The last lap was a masterpiece of Alex Rins. He passed Bagnaia with a signature move at turn two, which Marquez was able to take advantage of. Bagnaia from that point was unable to challenge, but Marquez had a chance. His lack of drive grip from the final corner meant it had to be MG if anywhere, but Rins covered it off beautifully. Finally, Rins was able to out-drive Marquez from the final corner, and took his and Suzuki's first win of the season. 

Marc Marquez took his first podium of the year in second, while Bagnaia took a considered third place, and with it the championship lead for the first time. 

Marco Bezzecchi finished fourth, and took the 'Rookie of the Year' title, while Enea Bastianini completed the top five. Luca Marini rounded out the top six, ahead of Jorge Martin, Johann Zarco, Aleix Espargaro and Brad Binder who completed the top 10.

Full MotoGP race results from Australia are below.

2022 Australian Grand Prix | Phillip Island Circuit | Race Results

Qualifying

Surprisingly for Phillip Island, conditions for MotoGP had been dry all weekend by the time qualifying arrived. Clouds had appeared overhead, but conditions remained stable throughout both Q1 and Q2, where Jorge Martin took pole position.

After free practice, Marc Marquez had - arguably unsurprisingly - singled himself out as the rider to beat for pole position in Phillip Island. For the title contenders, qualifying takes an extra meaning this weekend as the number of races remaining starts to dwindle. Therefore, for Enea Bastianini, advancing from Q1 to join the other four title challengers in Q2 would be crucial for his prospects.

The early pace in Q1, though, was set by Joan Mir, who had been impressive on his return from injury at what must be one of the most difficult and complicated circuits to return at, especially after missing Phillip Island in the last two seasons.

Bastianini did reach the top of the times on his first run, but he was soon displaced by Johann Zarco, who was a surprise omission from the top 10 after FP3 since he topped both FP1 and FP2 on Friday.

The second runs saw Zarco bumped out of the top two again, with Mir and Pol Espargaro getting themselves back in the top two just as Bastianini headed back out on track.

It seemed as though Bastianini was out of it, and although he was improving on his final lap he caught traffic with KTM's Miguel Oliveira in turn nine. There was nothing the Italian could do, and he finished third, behind Johann Zarco and the other Suzuki of Alex Rins, rather than his teammate Mir, who both improved on their final respective runs.

Miguel Oliveira was investigated for blocking, and was awarded a three-place grid penalty (meaning he drops from 21st on the grid to 24th and last) and a long-lap penalty.

The investigation into Oliveira found that he made a practice start before the chequered flag in Q1 before blocking Bastianini. In a statement released by KTM, Oliveira admitted his error, and apologised for creating what he described as a "dangerous situation."

The early pace in Q2 was set by rookie Marco Bezzecchi, but then Jorge Martin imposed his own speed to take provisional pole. Francesco Bagnaia hit the top on his second lap, just a few moments after Marc Marquez lost the front of his Honda at turn 10 as he was on a potential pole lap of his own in the wake of Bagnaia.

The first laps of the second run saw Bagnaia demoted to fourth as Jorge Martin took provisional pole from Aleix Espargaro and Johann Zarco. But the second lap from Bagnaia was crucial, getting him back onto the front row. It was also a crucial lap for Marc Marquez, who followed Bagnaia to go second, in front of the Italian but behind the final pole sitter, Jorge Martin.

For Martin, it was his first pole position since round four of the season in Texas, and he did by breaking the lap record at Phillip Island which has stood since 2013, when the track was resurfaced, creating so much grip that there was a mandatory pit stop.

On row two, Fabio Quartararo is behind the second of his title rivals, Aleix Espargaro. The Frenchman will start fifth, while Espargaro will go form fourth. Both are ahead of Johann Zarco; while Luca Marini heads row three from Jack Miller and Marco Bezzecchi. On row four, Alex Rins is 10th, ahead of Alex Marquez and Maverick Vinales.

Full MotoGP qualifying results from Australia are below.

2022 Australian Grand Prix | Phillip Island Circuit | Qualifying Results

FP3

After dodging between a rain shower or two on Friday, MotoGP's FP3 on Saturday morning in Phillip Island was held in similarly dry and sunny conditions to the first day. Setting a fast time would be crucial to make the top 10 and Q2 directly, especially for the five riders fighting for the title.

But, with stable conditions expected throughout the session, the first minutes of FP3 were used for more race tyre testing to work out what would be the option for Sunday.

That work will continue in FP4 later today, of course, but with Phillip Island being one of the most critical for rear tyre wear making the right choice of compound will be critical to arrive at the end of the race with some grip remaining. Making as much distance as possible on race tyres in practice therefore takes on additional importance in Australia.

Despite the race running, both KTM's Miguel Oliveira and VR46's Luca Marini were able to improve their combined ranking in the first 20 minutes. This was important especially for Marini, who ended Friday down in 20th and over one second off the pace.

The time attacks started quite early, first with Miguel Oliveira, and the two Suzuki riders: Joan Mir and Alex Rins. Jorge Martin then truly moved the goalposts, and became the first rider to go sub-1:29 this weekend with still more than 10 minutes to go.

Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Marquez were the next to make 1:28s, but neither were within a tenth of a second of Martin. Bagnaia then went fourth, but just outside the 1:28s. But, in the tow of Fabio Quartararo as the reigning champion went fifth, Alex Marquez went third and became the fourth rider in the 1:28s, and then Jack Miller was the fifth.

Suddenly, Joan Mir - who was top of the times after his first time attack - was out of the top 10 in 11th, and Friday's fastest Johann Zarco was on the cusp in 10th.

Right at the death, Marc Marquez went a tenth of a second clear in the tow of Aleix Espargaro who was fourth. Between them were Luca Marini in second and Jorge Martin inthird, while MArco Bezzecchi completed the top five.

Jack Miller was sixth, ahead of Alex Marquez, Francesco Bagnaia, Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo who scraped through in 10th. The big omission from the top 10 was Enea Bastianini in 14th. 

Full MotoGP FP3 results from Australia are below. 

2022 Australian Grand Prix | Phillip Island Circuit | Combined FP Results

FP2

Despite some rain before Moto3 FP2, the track was dry for MotoGP's Friday afternoon session. Johann Zarco led the field into the afternoon, after topping FP1.

The temperatures were cold for the start of the session, but even still Marc Marquez was out on a hard compound front tyre. Also, because of the lack of rivers compared to the morning, times were quickly improving on the combined standings. Maverick Vinales got himself inside the top 10 early on, as did Joan Mir, and Fabio Quartararo improved on his FP1 time within the first five minutes of FP2.

Certainly, the Aprilias started the session well, with both riders improving early on, and Vinales - who won the 2018 race in Phillip Island - getting himself inside the top two just behind Marc Marquez, with that hard front tyre.

On the other hand, Francesco Bagnaia was struggling early on, particularly in braking at turn four, the famous Honda Hairpin. The wind was definitely a factor in FP2, but it was notable that Bagnaia was struggling in that particular part of the track, running on twice in the space of a couple of laps in that particular corner.

With 10 minutes to go, the track was still dry, which meant time attacks were inevitable. With Phillip Island's traditionally unpredictable weather, getting into the top 10 overnight could prove crucial.

The first shot was fired by Thailand pole sitter Marco Bezzecchi with four minutes to go, before Maverick Vinales bettered the Italian's effort. Quartararo was the next to hit the top with his first time attack, and then Bezzecchi was back to the top.

It was a hectic end to the session, and in the end it was Zarco, who topped FP1, who was back on top in the afternoon. Marco Bezzecchi and Pol Espargaro completed the top three, while Quartararo and Vinales rounded out the top five. Marc Marquez was sixth, ahead of Aleix Espargaro, Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini, and Jorge Martin, who completed the top 10. 

Full MotoGP FP1 and FP2 combined times from Australia are below.

FP1

Free practice one Australia saw track conditions which were belied by the weather. Glorious blue skies shone over a track that was almost completely dry, bar some extremely tricky rivers in some places. Johann Zarco topped the session in the end, but times should improve in the afternoon. 

The early pace was set by Pol Espargaro, which was simultaneously both surprising and expected: MotoGP has not raced in Phillip Island since 2019, and the sketchy conditions of the morning meant that it lay to riders with little to lose and aggressive riding techniques to find the early pace. 

Soon, though, Espargaro was shuffled back as Fabio Quartararo hit the top. Another important aspect in tricky conditions is comfort and confidence in the bike. Not to detract from Quartararo, who of course was riding well, but the Yamaha is probably the bike that has changed the least since 2019, which was Quartararo's only previous visit to Phillip Island on a MotoGP bike. But, that solitary previous visit was three years ago, so the experience of the track is not there for the Frenchman. 

Into the final 20 minutes of the morning and Marc Marquez hit the top. In the post-Stoner era of MotoGP, Marquez has undoubtedly been the king of Phillip Island in the premier class, winning in 2015, 2017 and 2019, and being the fastest rider on at least two other occasions where he was unlucky.

In comparison to the Yamaha, the Honda might be the bike that has changed the most since 2019, although that has not necessarily caused the most progress in MotoGP in terms of performance. In fact, the Honda (above) is different even compared to the last race in Thailand, with a new air intake, downwash ducts and Ducati-style rear wings.

In the final five minutes, Jack Miller hit the top, but not many riders were dipping into the soft tyre allocation for an FP1 time attack with conditions expected remain stable for the afternoon. Even still, Johann Zarco was able to end the session as the fastest rider, ahead of Miller, Alex Marquez, Alex Rins, and Aleix Espargaro who rounded out the top five. 

Enea Bastianini was sixth, ahead of Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia in eighth. Fabio Di Giannantonio was ninth, with Marco Bezzecchi completing the top 10. Fabio Quartararo was the slowest of the title contenders in 12th.

Full MotoGP FP1 results from Australia are below.

2022 Australian Grand Prix | Phillip Island Circuit | FP1 Results

All images courtesy of Gold and Goose.

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