David Muñoz (Moto3), Alonso López (Moto2) and Johann Zarco (MotoGP) were the fastest during the warm-up sessions at the Phillip Island Grand Prix in Australia on Sunday morning.
On Sunday morning at 09:00 AM local time, 00:00 AM Dutch time, the warm-up sessions for the three classes of Grand Prix began at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit. It was unexpected but during the morning it rained quite a bit on the Australian circuit, making the asphalt wet. The sun was already shining at the beginning of the first session, so soon the first dry tracks appeared.
Moto 3
That means Moto3 riders took to the track with wet tires in a ten-minute warm-up session. Because of the bright sun and wind, large parts of the circle had already dried up, but there were also a number of large wet spots.
Quite a steam there this morning! ⚠️
But the sun is on, so hopefully it won’t take long for it to dry#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/sjglVYL5zu
– MotoGP™ 🏁 (MotoGP) October 15 2022
In an unimportant session, David Muñoz set the fastest lap time ahead of John McPhee and Diogo Moreira with 1’44.725. Sergio Garcia set the fourth fastest time, ahead of Jaume Macia and Mario Agee, followed by Alberto Sura, Danny Holgado, Scott Ogden and Carlos Tatay in the top ten.
The 23-lap Moto3 race will start at 02:00 AM Dutch Time.
Moto 2
The track dried out even more during the ten-minute warm-up session for the Moto2 class, causing a number of riders to dare mount the spots. Several drivers eventually came out just to start testing, and this was also a session that didn’t make the drivers and teams any wiser.
Alonso Lopez was the fastest with 1’36.848, ahead of Aaron Kaneh and Pedro Acosta. Niccol Antonelli clocked fourth lap time ahead of Bo Bendsneider and first player Fermin Aldeger, with Manuel Gonzalez, Philip Salak, Kimment Kubo and Somkyat Shantra in the top ten.
Aaron Kanet did what many drivers and teams feared in the final stage. The Spaniard drove at snail speed through Turn 10 (MG Corner) as he got off the back of the Calyx and was thrown with a good high lap. Fortunately, it appeared that he was unharmed but it could have been a serious injury.
Tweet embed peaks # Moto 2 Warm up, master these steam conditions
Kanye takes second place but stumbles in the end#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/DwXWW34hBT
– MotoGP™ 🏁 (MotoGP) October 15 2022
The 25-lap Moto2 race will start at 03:20 Dutch time.
MotoGP
However, the weather changed quickly, and as the motorcyclists took to the circuit for a 20-minute warm-up session, the weather began to deteriorate at the Phillip Island Grand Prix circuit. This meant spots were definitely out of the question in this session and the drivers weren’t able to make a final assessment before the race.
Oh oh
The rain has arrived .️#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/dP8FTJeUDa
– MotoGP™ 🏁 (MotoGP) October 15 2022
Within minutes, the track was covered in a large layer of water and the drivers took to the track to complete a few laps in the rain, even though the race was expected to be dry.
The conditions were treacherous and that’s what Fabio Quartaro and Marc Marquez experienced. The Frenchman was unable to stop his Yamaha YZR-M1 in Turn 1 (Doohan Corner) and had to go straight into the wet grass, impressively managing to keep the machine upright.
Little character from motocross for @FabioQ20!#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/TznZ14LeVU
– MotoGP™ 🏁 (MotoGP) October 15 2022
Moments later, things went wrong for Marc Marquez, the Spaniard slowly drove into Turn 2 (south loop) before coming out the back of his Honda RC213V and thrown with a high elbow.
looks as if @marcmarquez93 He was caught by the white line!
Honda man all is well#AustralianGP 🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/PvEN9SNJpG
– MotoGP™ 🏁 (MotoGP) October 15 2022
In the end, Johann Zarko was fastest on this course as he was driving early in the session when the track wasn’t too wet yet. Behind him, Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartaro scored the second and third lap times, while Miguel Oliveira, Alex Raines, Jack Miller, Darren Bender, Paul Espargaro, Jorge Martin and Joan Mir took the top ten.
The 27-lap motorbike race will start at 05:00 am Dutch time.
Useful Links Animoca Brands Australian Grand Prix Motorcycle:
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