Days after the crash that forced him out of the MotoGP Indonesian GP race, Jorge Martín convincingly led the first free practice session of the Australian Grand Prix. He was more than seven seconds ahead of the second-placed rider this morning at Phillip Island.
Aprilia made a strong start at Phillip Island, with Maverick Viñales and Aleix Espargaró leading after the initial flying laps. As usual in the first minutes, the leaderboard saw several changes, with Marc Márquez (Repsol Honda) becoming the new leader, closely chased by Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac/Ducati), who then solidified his second position, even though his teammate Martín moved to the top.
The order in the top two prevailed, while Viñales took third. The riders continued to adapt to the circuit and conditions, in addition to working on the set-up of their bikes. With 33 minutes remaining, Marc Márquez had a crash at turn ten, with no major consequences.
Shortly after, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) moved into second place splitting the Pramac riders. The leaderboard remained relatively unchanged at the front until Viñales reached second place with 21 minutes to go.
More changes occurred with about 15 minutes left when the surprising Augusto Fernández (GasGas Tech3/KTM) claimed third place.
It was in the final three minutes that the leader changed when Viñales overtook Martín. Martín was also beaten by Fernández but finished the session with two fast laps to return to the lead for good.
At the end, Fernández returned to second place, trailing Martín by 0.720s. Viñales was third, followed by Binder and Zarco. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati), the championship leader, finished in 11th place.
Timesheet: