Marc Marquez emerged as the fastest rider during a weather-affected practice session for the Australian MotoGP on Friday, clocking a remarkable lap time of 1 minute 27.770 seconds at Phillip Island. The six-time world champion, who has secured victory at this circuit four times previously, demonstrated his mastery of the track after early rain subsided. Marquez's performance put him 0.102 seconds ahead of his brother Alex, both competing on Gresini bikes, in a session that experienced a brief interruption due to a goose wandering onto the track.
Italy's Marco Bezzecchi followed Marquez in third place on his Ducati-VR46, while championship leader Jorge Martin finished in fourth after recovering from a crash early in the session. Martin's performance was crucial as he edged out his title rival, Francesco Bagnaia, who came in fifth. With only four race weekends remaining in the season, the championship battle remains tight, with Martin holding a slender 10-point lead over the defending champion Bagnaia.
The opening morning practice had to be canceled due to persistent heavy rain, which presented challenges for teams eager to gather data on tire performance for the newly resurfaced track. Fortunately, the rain cleared in time for the afternoon session, although Martin encountered difficulties when he crashed on just his second lap after colliding with Fabio Quartararo. Bagnaia also faced challenges, returning to the pits early as he struggled to find his rhythm.
As the practice session continued, Marquez initially set the pace before being briefly surpassed by Maverick Vinales. However, Marquez quickly reclaimed the top position as the session progressed, maintaining his edge over Martin and Bagnaia, who both attempted to improve their lap times. Alongside Marquez, Vinales, Brad Binder, Fabio Di Giannantonio, Franco Morbidelli, and Alex Rins also secured spots in the top ten, qualifying directly for Saturday's second qualifying session, which will determine the grid for both the sprint race and the main event on Sunday.
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