Back out and heading down under to The Island

The penultimate push of the season is here as the MotoGP World Championship prepares for its second triple header of the flyaways, the Australian GP restarting the action after a brief respite. A clear mission for Joan Mir and Luca Marini on the Repsol Honda Team machines.

Perhaps the most unique calendar on the MotoGP World Championship calendar, Phillip Island sits on the edge of the wild Bass Straight and has hosted a number of titanic battles. Home to the Australian Grand Prix consistently since 1997, the 4.45-kilometre-long track is a favorite of riders and fans and will no doubt provide another nail-biting Grand Prix this year.

Joan Mir arrives in Australia looking to shake off the bad luck he picked up in Indonesia and Japan, incidents forcing him out of both races. It has been especially frustrating for the #36 as he and the Repsol Honda Team have been able to make a step and improve their raw speed after recent updates to the Honda RC213V. Challenging the top ten during practice in recent races, a better grid position will be vital for Mir to avoid early race incidents and show his performance when points are to play for on track. The track holds fond memories for Mir who made his World Championship debut there in 2015 and wrapped up his first World Championship at the same track just two years later.

The Australian GP offers Luca Marini another chance to continue his upward trajectory to see out the season. Able to make the most of a complicated weekend in Japan, the #10’s work ethic shone through as he salvaged points and continued to show his adaptation to the Honda. Round 17 is another chance for Marini to try his Honda at a different kind of track, the fast and flowing nature a dramatic change to the stop and go layout of Motegi.

Mick Doohan claimed his first World Championship in 1994 aboard the Honda NSR500, an achievement which will be celebrated throughout the weekend in front of his home fans.