The non-stop schedule of the 2023 World Championship season keeps on coming as the Repsol Honda Team head to the most southernly GP of the year.

A short flight and a quick drive from Lombok to Melbourne and down to Phillip Island and Round 16, the Australian Grand Prix, is already here. The Repsol Honda Team are aiming to use the quick turnaround between races to help turn their fortunes after an ultimately unrewarding weekend in Mandalika. Redemption now calls at a circuit famous for tantalisingly close battles and unique situations.

Phillip Island is a track which has traditionally treated Marc Marquez and the Honda RC213V well, the combination taking three wins there in 2015, 2017, and 2019 – making the #93 Honda’s most successful rider around the 4.45km long track. Outside of these wins, Marquez scored a podium at the track last year – his 100th in the premier class with the Repsol Honda Team. Consistency across the weekend will be key, even if the weather looks set to be as volatile as ever.

Joan Mir arrives in Australia, the scene of his World Championship debut back in 2015, with his trademark positivity intact. Despite a late fall while showing some of his best race pace of the year, the #36 arrives happy with what he achieved and remains confident that there is more to come. Phillip Island was also the scene of Joan Mir’s first World Championship, winning the 2017 Moto3 crown on the Honda NSF250RW.

As always, the weather, and particularly the gusty winds, will be a critically important factor to monitor over the course of the Grand Prix weekend. Forecasts suggest it will certainly be a cooler weekend than the consistent 30°C and higher that the World Championship experienced in Indonesia.

Marc Marquez

“Phillip Island is a circuit with a lot of good memories for me. The place is something really unique on the MotoGP calendar and I have also enjoyed many memorable races there. Last year we got a really good podium there, my 100th in the premier class. As always, we have to see what happens this weekend and especially here in Australia the weather can change a lot and the wind can make things complicated. It will be important to have a good plan for all scenarios.”

Joan Mir

“I think everyone enjoys Phillip Island, so I am looking forward to getting there. On paper Indonesia didn’t look great but honestly, when you look deeper and especially at our pace on Sunday – we need to see the positives and look to make it happen again this weekend. Now we come to one of those tracks where almost anything can happen, on track and in the sky, so let’s begin! It’s an intense schedule to end the year so we have to keep focused to finish well.”

MotoGP 2023

Rider standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 Bagnaia Francesco 1 ITA 346 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
2 Martin Jorge 89 SPA 328 Pramac Racing Ducati
3 Bezzecchi Marco 72 ITA 283 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
4 Binder Brad 33 RSA 211 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
5 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA 177 Aprilia Racing Aprilia
6 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA 165 Aprilia Racing Aprilia
7 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 162 Pramac Racing Ducati
8 Marini Luca 10 ITA 144 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
9 Miller Jack 43 AUS 135 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
10 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA 132 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
11 Marquez Alex 73 SPA 108 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
12 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 79 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
13 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR 73 RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia
14 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA 70 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
15 Fernandez Augusto 37 SPA 67 Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM
16 Marquez Marc 93 SPA 64 Repsol Honda Team Honda
17 Rins Alex 42 SPA 54 LCR Honda Honda
18 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN 50 LCR Honda Honda
19 Fernandez Raul 25 SPA 39 RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia
20 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA 36 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
21 Pedrosa Dani 26 SPA 32 KTM Test Team KTM
22 Mir Joan 36 SPA 20 Repsol Honda Team Honda
23 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA 12 Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM
24 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA 9 RNF MotoGP Team Aprilia
25 Folger Jonas 94 GER 9 Tech3 GASGAS Factory Racing KTM
26 Bradl Stefan 6 GER 8 Repsol Honda Team Honda
27 Petrucci Danilo 9 ITA 5 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
28 Pirro Michele 51 ITA 5 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
29 Crutchlow Cal 35 GBR 3 Yamaha Test Team Yamaha
30 Lecuona Iker 27 SPA 0 Repsol Honda Team Honda
Location Information

Phillip Island, the self-styled home of Australian motorsport, is steeped in motor racing tradition, with the first car races having been held there on public roads in the 1920s. The first motorcycle races took place in 1931 and a permanent track was built in 1956. The circuit fell into disrepair… read more.

Length 4.448 kilometres / 2.764 miles
Width 13 metres
Left corners 7
Right corners 5
Longest straight 0.900 kilometres / 0.559 miles
Constructed 1956
Modified 1988

Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island, Ventnor, Victoria, Australia - View in Google Maps

www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au

Records

Pole Position 1m 27.246s (183.5 km/h) Jorge Martin (Ducati, 2023)
Race Lap 1m 28.108s (181.7 km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2013)
Race Time 40m 33.849s (177.6 km/h) Marc Marquez (Honda, 2015)
2023 Race Winner Johann Zarco (Ducati)