Round 18 of the MotoGP World Championship kicked off last Friday at the Phillip Island Circuit.
The highly anticipated return of the Qatar Airways sponsored event witnessed 72 hours of jam-packed action both on and off the track.
The world class categories took to the tarmac early on Friday morning for their respective practice sessions.
Friday’s premier class practice session finished out the day’s schedule after delays and session cancellations due to heavy rainfall.
Prevailing in the adverse conditions and taking timing honours in the wet was Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) with a stellar 1:27.770 setting him up for a strong performance that would continue throughout the weekend and the following morning’s Free Practice 2, in which he also topped the time charts.
As practice sessions wrapped mid-morning on Saturday, qualifying sessions for the premier class immediately followed suit.
Spaniard Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) took out pole position during Q2 ahead of Sunday’s main 27-lap race, Marquez slotted into second position on the grid, along with Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) in third.
Aussie, Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) struggled to find his footing throughout Q1, slotting into sixth and relegating him to 16th position on the starting grid.
All eyes however, were focused on Saturday afternoon's 13-lap Tissot Sprint race.
Martin emerged victorious, continuing on from his strong performances earlier in the day.
Taking out second place in the 13-lap sprint, Marquez powered his satellite Ducati across the line over one-and-a-half seconds later.
Ducati Lenovo Team’s Enea Bastianini rounded out the podium-placers in third, just over four seconds later (after Martin).
The adrenaline fuelled race was not without drama. The sprint saw seven DNFs after several crashes and high-speed incidents.
Miller lost his footing after a spill during Lap 8 leaving Aussie fans disappointed.
To add to the tense on-track shenanigans, Miller’s teammate Brad Binder, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3), Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) all fell victim to crashes throughout the race.
Lap 12 proved tumultuous in the battle for fifth, with Vinales and Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi colliding at Turn 2 in a high-speed crash leaving both riders in the gravel.
Saturday afternoon’s top three ended the day on a high note as Sunday’s main 27-lapper loomed which proved to be just as intense of a battle.
Marquez prevailed triumphant in the Sunday sun after a tight battle for first against pole-sitter, Martin.
Martin utilised the pole start to his advantage, breaking away from the field with Marquez tailing closely behind in second.
As the final laps loomed, between the two Spaniards a game of cat and mouse ensued, going overtake-for-overtake as a 10-second gap between the remainder of the field emerged.
Marquez got his overtake to stick with just minutes left on the clock, crossing the finish line with a stellar victory and points in the bag ahead of next week’s Thai Grand Prix.
Martin followed in second place, nine-tenths of a second later.
Heading the 10-second gap was current World Champion, Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) in third place.
Martin currently leads the championship standings with 424 points, along with Bagnaia slotted into a tight second on 404 points.
For the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix’s Moto2 and Moto3 weekend results and information on the upcoming Thai Grand Prix, go to www.motogp.com