Marini and Mir bring the fight throughout sunny Saturday in Australia

Ever-improving conditions made for even closer racing as the Phillip Island weekend continued at pace, Luca Marini and Joan Mir both fighting fiercely on their way to eighth and 11th respectively in the Sprint.

Barely a hint of a cloud in the sky produced another record-breaking day of MotoGP action at the Australian Grand Prix as the field continued to push themselves and their machines to the limit. Q1 and Q2 would be as close as ever, Joan Mir missing out on a transfer spot by just two tenths and an even finer margin separating Luca Marini from the front two rows.

Luca Marini continued his run as top Honda, starting in ninth thanks to a 1’27.095 – two tenths faster than last year’s pole time. Stifled somewhat into Turn 1, Marini focused on trying to quickly make up lost ground and became locked in a multi-lap battle with Pol Espargaro. Eventually getting the best of the KTM rider, Marini went on to cross the line in eighth place and finish just 0.2s behind pole-setter Fabio Quartararo. Although not as competitive as in Motegi and Mandalika, Marini remains pleased with the overall speed he has shown this weekend as he continues to collect more points.

Like his Honda HRC Castrol teammate, Joan Mir spent much of the Sprint race embroiled in battles. Able to match the pace of the top five, the #36 quickly closed in on Marini and Espargaro and spent several laps waiting for his opportunity. An incident later in the race would drop Mir behind Bastianini and see the 2020 MotoGP World Champion cross the line in 11th. Confident in his pace, Mir is looking forward to Sunday’s Grand Prix and aiming for a quicker start to the race to make early ground.

Due to extreme weather forecasts, the 27-lap Australian Grand Prix will start one hour later, at 15:00 Local Time, to avoid the worst of the weather.