Australian MotoGP 2024: Jorge Martin masters tricky conditions to grab pole for Saturday sprint
Hometown MotoGP hero Jack Miller has revealed he rode the the Australian Sprint race at Phillip Island with a seagull wedged into the front of his KTM machine. That run-in with wildlife came just hours after a high-speed mishap involving an unlucky rabbit.
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Hometown MotoGP hero Jack Miller revealed after the Australian Sprint race at Phillip Island that he rode the race with a seagull wedged into the front of his KTM machine.
Miller slammed into the bird at the first corner, and it was wedged near the handlebars and stayed despite his best efforts to remove it.
“I tried to do what I could on the first lap to see if I could get rid of it. I couldn’t.
“So I focused on the job at hand, which was racing.
“Second lap went into turn one ... the seagull was then flapping, and it kept getting his head jammed in between the brake lever and the handlebars. I wasn’t able to pull a lever. So that was unreal.
“I went into turn two, tried to reach over and pull the seagull out with my throttle hand, but wasn’t able to get it out.
“I just had to come to the fact that I was going to race with a seagull hanging out of the bike,’’ he said.
Miller later crashed at turn 10, but the seagull was not to blame, he said.
The Australian also had an earlier encounter with the local wildlife, riding into a rabbit which had hopped across the circuit during qualifying.
At the front of the pack, Ducati star Jorge Martin extended his lead in the 2024 MotoGP championship after victory in a drama-filled sprint race at Phillip Island.
Martin dashed away from the field at the start, quickly built a comfortable lead and was able to coast to victory, finishing 1.52sec ahead of Ducati duo Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini.
Reigning champion Pecco Bagnaia crossed in fourth, slipping to 16 points behind Martin in the duel for this year’s title.
Miller crashed out of the 13-lap race with five laps to go while in eighth position. The KTM rider had made solid progress after starting back on 16th on the grid.
The race was blighted by a horror high-speed collision at the end of Gardner Straight where Marco Bezzecchi’s Ducati slammed into the rear of the Aprilia of Maverick Vinales on the second-last lap.
The 220kmh smash at the start of Doohan Corner saw both riders tumbling into the gravel.
Vinales walked away but Bezzecchi was carried to safety on a stretcher and will be in doubt for Sunday’s Grand Prix.
Ducatis filled the first six positions.
The infamous island weather took its toll with six riders crashing in the windy conditions, including Pedro Acosta, Alex Marquez, Brad Binder and 2023 Australian GP winner Johann Zarco.
Earlier in Moto2, Australian Senna Agius stepped up from the first qualifying session to join Q2, setting a new all-time record of 1 min 31.586sec, a mark surpassed 20 minutes later by pole-sitter Fermin Aldeguer. Agius will start from 13th.
And in Moto3, Aussie Joel Kelso was top of the timesheets in the closing stages only to be swamped by six riders and will start from the third row of the grid, while countryman Jacob Roulstone was 12th fastest.
Ivan Ortola claimed pole from Colin Veijer and Adrian Fernandez.
MARQUEZ FLIES, MILLER MAKES MESS OF RABBIT
EARLIER: MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin made light of cool and windy conditions at Phillip Island to claim pole position for both the Saturday sprint and the Australian Grand Prix.
Martin piloted his Pramac Ducati to a time of 1 min 27.296, just 0.05 second behind his own all-time lap record set last year, a stunning result given the gusty winds and a 14C temperature.
Marc Marquez was second fastest on the Gresini Ducati, more than half a second behind, while third was factory Aprilia rider Maverick Vinales to make it an all-Spanish front row.
Martin’s title rival and defending champion Pecco Bagnaia was fifth on the factory Ducati just behind Marco Bezzecchi.
Jack Miller’s KTM hit a rabbit during the first qualifying session and the Australian will start from 16th on the grid for his home race.
Some of the animal’s fur was left embedded in the KTM’s fairing.
Rabbit was here. 😳#KTM#ReadyToRace#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/sByWNqzatU
— RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING (@KTM_Racing) October 19, 2024
"He hit a rabbit" ðŸ‡
— MotoGP on TNT Sports (@motogpontnt) October 19, 2024
Francesco Guidotti on the difficult Q1 for Jack Miller and Brad Binder's Q2 session ðŸŸ
ðŸŽ™ï¸ @SteveDay#MotoGP | #AustralianGP | Live on TNT Sports and Discovery+ pic.twitter.com/aJUA2qQWYP
The first ever sprint race at Phillip Island will be held on Saturday afternoon. The half-distance events were introduced at the start of 2023 but Australian fans missed out because of the wet and wild weather.
Saturday’s action was marked by strong winds and early rain that swept across the 4.445km coastal circuit.
Australian Senna Agius was the quickest in damp conditions in the Moto2 morning practice. The 19-year-old was more than half a second clear of Tony Arbolino, and will be hoping for more rain during afternoon qualifying.
EIGHT-TIME WORLD CHAMP STARS AS WANDERING WILDLIFE STEAL THE SHOW
Eight-time world champion Marc Marquez rolled back the years to be fastest in opening practice of the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island on a strange day of rain, sun – and wandering wildlife.
Cape Barren geese twice strolled onto the track to halt the action, and then late in the MotoGP session, championship leader Jorge Martin had to ease off the throttle to avoid a rabbit hopping across the tarmac.
The opening sessions were meant to be another chapter in the title duel between Martin and Pecco Bagnaia – but Marquez hadn’t read the script.
Marquez, 31, was the first rider to eclipse the 1min 28sec mark to head into Saturday’s qualifying and sprint race full of confidence.
Younger brother and Gresini teammate Alex was second, ahead of Marco Bezzecchi. The fastest three were all on the older GP23 Ducatis.
Martin was fourth fastest but could have been quicker if not having to ease off the throttle to avoid a rabbit on his final lap.
Martin was just ahead of defending champion Bagnaia.
Hometown hero Jack Miller was pushed out of the top 10 – and an automatic spot in the Q2 session – after being fastest at the halfway point of the session.
Earlier in the session, Miller’s factory KTM had tumbled on to the grass at Turn 4 – the corner named in his honour in 2022.
Maverick Vinales, an island winner in 2018, was sixth on the factory Aprilia.
It was a day of extremes. Heavy rain in the morning forced the abandonment of the first MotoGP practice, and then the island sun was so fierce that steam was seen rising from the tarmac.
Teams spent as much time looking at the weather radar as their own data as more rain threatened to interrupt the afternoon.
Three geese strolling across the track had brought out the red flags in the Moto2 practice session.
The native birds, which flourish across the island, forced riders to take evasive action.
Race marshals then ushered the geese to safety while riders returned to the pits for a restart.
After the bird drama, Fermin Aldeguer finished fastest on the timesheets ahead of Aron Canet and Alonso Lopez for an all-Spanish top three.
Unbothered, doing their thing #AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/9ZaKhvNO93
— MotoGPâ„¢ðŸ (@MotoGP) October 18, 2024
Senna Agius was 15th with fellow Aussie Harrison Voight, a late replacement for the injured Dani Munoz for the Preicanos Racing Team.
Red Bull rider Celestino Vietti crashed heavily on track and will be unable to ride for the weekend.
In Moto3, Spaniard Angel Piqueras was quickest on a drying track, a full second ahead of Colombian and 2024 champion David Alonso.
Australian Joel Kelso made the Q2 cut-off in 10th, while countryman Jacob Roulstone was 22nd from a field of 26 riders.
Meanwhile in the World Superbikes series Australian Remy Gardner has signed for another season with the GRT Yamaha team. Gardner, 26, broke his wrist at the Estoril circuit and will miss the final round at Jerez this weekend.
WILD INTERRUPTION: Three Cape Barren geese wandering on the Phillip Island track brought out the red flags in the Moto2 practice session.
The native birds, which flourish across the island, walked across the tarmac at the back of the circuit, forcing riders to take evasive action.
Race marshals then ushered the geese to safety while riders returned to the pits for a restart.
Well, traditions 😂
— MotoGPâ„¢ðŸ (@MotoGP) October 18, 2024
These birds DO LOVE #Moto2 and they've just caused a red flag 🔴#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/jj6Yp3zgkI
LUNCHTIME UPDATE: After a soggy morning at Phillip Island, bikes returned to the track under sunny skies.
The morning practice session for MotoGP was abandoned, and instead an extended 80-minute session will start at 3pm, weather permitting.
The Moto3 riders were first back on track, with Aussies Joel Kelso and Jacob Roulstone hoping to improve their morning times.
And in Moto2, Senna Agius is seeking to improve on his 11-fastest position from the first session.
11AM UPDATE: Heavy rain delayed the start of opening practice of the Australian MotoGP at Phillip Island.
The rain band that is sweeping across Victoria hit the track about 10.15am, forcing spectators to run for shelter or take cover under umbrellas.
Race authorities ordered a delay to the start of the MotoGP practice session which was scheduled to start at 10.45am.
The earlier opening sessions for Moto2 and Moto3 categories were completed with a few riders sliding off in the slippery conditions.
FIVE REASONS TO TREASURE THE ISLAND
It’s an iconic event that rarely fails to deliver drama, even if it’s the chaotic weather.
And the 4.445km undulating track is one of the world’s best, loved by riders and fans alike.
Here are five reasons why the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix is not to be missed.
IT’S SPRINT TIME
Yes, the 13-lap sprint will make its debut at the island, finally.
Although the half-distance races have become a successful innovation on the Saturday schedule since the start of last year, last year’s wet and wild weather meant it never happened at Phillip Island in 2023.
So, after 35 sprint races at other tracks, Australia finally gets its turn on Saturday at 3pm.
For the record, Jorge Martin has won the most sprints with 14 victories from Pecco Bagnaia’s 10. And Ducatis have won all bar six of the shortened races.
The perfect prelude to Sunday’s main event.
JACK’S PLACE
Aussie Jack Miller has had a difficult year with KTM, and last month his MotoGP career was thrown a lifeline for 2025, scoring the last rider position with a one-year deal with Pramac Yamaha.
The knockabout Queenslander has not finished better than fifth in 2024, but at the island “Thriller Miller’’ often finds another gear and certainly gives all for his army of loyal fans.
A victory might be optimistic this year but a repeat of his podium third in 2019 would see an Aussie invasion of Gardner Straight post-race.
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE
Not just Miller, but three next-generation Australian riders will be chasing hometown glory. Senna Agius, still just 19, is competing in Moto2 and while recent results haven’t gone his way, he would hope his history at the island would stand him in good stead. Competing in the national Supersport 300 series in 2019, the 14-year-old Agius won twice at the island on his way to the championship.
And in Moto3, Darwin’s Joel Kelso, 21, has been knocking on the door for a couple of years, and this year has finished in the top eight in 10 of the 16 rounds so far. Kelso was third at the island last year, just his second podium finish. And to complete the home trio, Jacob Roulstone is building his career with the Red Bull GasGas Tech 3 team. The 19-year-old was a three-time Australian Junior Dirt Track Champion.
TITLE FIGHT
The 2024 MotoGP title won’t be decided at Phillip Island but it just might make a major difference. Challenger Jorge Martin leads defending champion Pecco Bagnaia by just 10 points in the battle of the Ducatis. But the island’s penchant for throwing up surprise winners (Johann Zarco in 2023 and Alex Rins in 2022) could throw a spanner in the works. And Marc Marquez, a four-time Australian GP winner, could also have a say in where the title lands. Just three rounds remain after this weekend, so simmering tensions could surface between the top two. Standby.
THE WEATHER
Yes, teams, media and fans spend as much time talking about the infamous Phillip Island weather as tyres, engines and lap times.
Friday’s forecast is looking damp but anything could and does happen. The weekend looks brighter though.
The circuit’s glorious view of the Bass Strait has its trade-off – that’s where the southerly weather sweeps in from. Enough said. And pack your raincoat.
Originally published as Australian MotoGP 2024: Jorge Martin masters tricky conditions to grab pole for Saturday sprint
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