Making the most of limited track time, Joan Mir and Luca Marini returned to MotoGP action at Phillip Island as weather, and geese, played their part in a wild first day. Dramatic weather and Phillip Island once again went hand-in-hand as the opening of the 202 View this email in your browser   Practice Report Friday, Oct 18th 2024   Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix MotoGP 2024   Round 17 Repsol Honda Team aim for more after up and down Friday in Australia Making the most of limited track time, Joan Mir and Luca Marini returned to MotoGP action at Phillip Island as weather, and geese, played their part in a wild first day. Dramatic weather and Phillip Island once again went hand-in-hand as the opening of the 2024 Australian Grand Prix was plagued with rain on Friday morning. A lengthy delay ultimately led to the cancellation of Free Practice 1 in Australia. As a result, it would just be a single 60-minute session of practice in the afternoon which fortunately stayed dry despite clouds quickly mustering overhead. Joan Mir returned to one of his favourite circuits on the calendar but had several challenges to overcome in Friday's single session. With a new surface at Phillip Island, all the dry track time available was crucial for the Repsol Honda Team to understand the demands they face in 2024. A brief red flag due to local wildlife during the afternoon session did little to upset the #36's rhythm as he was back on track after the brief pause. Longer runs again show potential for the 2020 World Champion, but his feeling on new tyres still remains as the key area of improvement for him and the team. A fastest lap of 1’28.773 left him 17th at the end of the day. It was a frustrating day for Luca Marini who clearly had the potential to deliver a better final result. Ending Friday with a best time of 1'28.820 left the Italian down in 19th, half a tenth back on his teammate Mir. Yellow flags during Marini's final laps of the track limited his potential and the #10 is determined to make another step forward on Saturday. As is often the case in Australia, times were incredibly close as a second split the top 19 riders on Friday. Marini is confident of making a step with not only the setting of his Honda RC213V but also his riding tomorrow. Saturday is when everything counts in earnest for the Repsol Honda Team, Qualifying and the Sprint Race – the first one to be held at the Australian Grand Prix after its cancellation in 2023 – will be key indicators for Sunday's main event. Forecasts will once again be frantically checked as the day progresses. Joan Mir  36 17th  1'28.773 "Today was a day with a lot of potential because I am feeling quite good here. It is quite normal that the weather can have some impact here, so you always have to be ready and as a team we were able to adjust our plan and handle it well. On the new tyre when it was time to push for a fast time at the end of the session, we were missing a little something, a few tenths that could have helped us a lot. It's an area we need to keep working on and already we have a few ideas for Qualifying tomorrow, the objective is to get the best possible grid position because our rhythm overall is strong." Luca Marini  10 19th  1'28.820 "In the end we were able to enjoy riding, which is important. The new surface has changed the feeling a little bit so it was good to get some dry time. We need to keep working on the bike to improve the performance, but even like this we are very close. A pity the last few laps when we were pushing to improve our time with the yellow flags, it hides our potential. I am aiming to make a step with the setting and my riding because I think there's a lot of margin there. We keep working and improving." Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix - Friday Practice Pos. Rider Num Nation Team Constructor Time/Gap 1 Marquez Marc 93 SPA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 1'27.770 2 Marquez Alex 73 SPA Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.102 3 Bezzecchi Marco 72 ITA Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati 0.188 4 Martin Jorge 89 SPA Pramac Racing Ducati 0.197 5 Bagnaia Francesco 1 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.243 6 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 0.390 7 Binder Brad 33 RSA Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0.495 8 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team Ducati 0.542 9 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA Pramac Racing Ducati 0.550 10 Rins Alex 42 SPA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.658 11 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 0.673 12 Miller Jack 43 AUS Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 0.699 13 Acosta Pedro 31 SPA Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 KTM 0.758 14 Zarco Johann 5 FRA LCR Honda Honda 0.806 15 Fernandez Augusto 37 SPA Red Bull GASGAS Tech 3 KTM 0.858 16 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 0.989 17 Mir Joan 36 SPA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1.003 18 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA Aprilia Racing Aprilia 1.012 19 Marini Luca 10 ITA Repsol Honda Team Honda 1.050 20 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN LCR Honda Honda 1.523 21 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA Trackhouse Racing Aprilia 2.099 22 Fernandez Raul 25 SPA Trackhouse Racing Aprilia 2.288 Copyright Free Images For editorial use only, click here to download images. 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 Circuit 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) Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, Phillip Island, Ventnor, Victoria, Australia –  View in Google Maps www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au You are receiving this email because you have registered your interest with Honda Racing Corporation If you no longer want to receive emails from Repsol Honda Team - MotoGP, please click here to unsubscribe .