How Aprilia Dominated Friday Practice at Phillip Island

Bezzecchi Rebounds to Lead an Aprilia Surge

Friday practice at Phillip Island for the 2026 Australian Grand Prix delivered a dramatic opening day marked by stoppages and a dominant showing from Aprilia. After an early tumble following contact with Alex Marquez under braking into Turn 4, Marco Bezzecchi regrouped to log an untouched late flyer of 1’26.775. The session underscored an afternoon where Marco Bezzecchi Tops Friday MotoGP Practice at Phillip Island as Aprilias Surge across the timing screens, placing four RS-GP bikes directly into the top five.

Red Flags Disrupt the Early Running

The decisive afternoon session was interrupted twice within its initial twenty minutes. Jack Miller crashed at Turn 6 on his Prima Pramac Yamaha, followed quickly by the collision that brought down Bezzecchi and left debris on the racing line. Once track workers cleared the surface, track action halted once again when a wallaby strayed onto the circuit, pausing running before teams could settle into serious qualifying simulations.

Top Ten Automatic Q2 Spots Settled

Aprilia’s late pace surrounded Marc Marquez, who placed his factory Ducati third as the lone non-Aprilia in the top five despite needing a scooter ride back to the paddock after a post-flag practice start issue. Raul Fernandez took second for SuperFile Trackhouse, followed by teammate Ai Ogura in fourth and factory Aprilia rider Jorge Martin jumping to fifth. Alex Marquez secured sixth despite a late Turn 4 crash, while Enea Bastianini, Pedro Acosta, Diogo Moreira, and Fabio Di Giannantonio completed the top ten to bypass Qualifying 1, sending contenders such as Francesco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo into the first qualifying group.

Official reference: Bezzecchi fastest on Friday at Phillip Island, Aprilias gang-up on Marc Marquez.