Heavy rain arrived at Phillip Island on Saturday morning, transforming the opening track sessions of the Australian MotoGP weekend after a dry and sunny Friday. The wet weather comes on a particularly important day for the championship: Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez are separated by only two points at the top of the standings after Indonesia.

Moto3 riders were already being caught out by the slippery conditions during their first wet session of the weekend. Moto2 FP2 then began with water covering the circuit, while separate crashes at Turn 1 and the Miller corner hairpin at Turn 4 underlined how little grip was available. Adrian Huertas was among the riders to fall at Turn 1. The track began to dry towards the end of the session, but spray remained visible and wet tyres were expected for the start of MotoGP final practice. Sunshine briefly appeared over the wet circuit, although no further rain was falling at that stage.

A packed and important Saturday

MotoGP FP2 is scheduled for 10:10 local time, followed by qualifying at 10:50 and the Sprint at 3:00pm. Those sessions begin at 00:10, 00:50 and 5:00am respectively in the UK. Despite the difficult conditions, the wet track was not expected to cause a schedule delay.

Marquez brings a strong Phillip Island record into the weekend, with four premier-class victories at the circuit. He and Martin both missed last year’s event because of injuries, when Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez delivered Aprilia a clean sweep of Sprint and Grand Prix wins. Fernandez, Johann Zarco and Alex Rins are the other riders on the current grid with a MotoGP victory at Phillip Island, one apiece.

This is the last Australian Grand Prix to be held at Phillip Island before the event moves to Adelaide’s new street circuit from 2027. It is also Jack Miller’s final Australian MotoGP appearance before his move to WorldSBK next season. Miller is racing at home while the forecast points to an increasingly demanding weekend: Saturday carries a possible 4 to 15 mm of rain, with thunderstorms, damaging winds, large hail and heavy rainfall that could lead to flash flooding. Sunday is forecast to be wetter still, with 15 to 30 mm expected.

Friday’s dry running had placed Marquez as the only rider to split the four Aprilias at the front of the timesheets. With qualifying and the Sprint now set to take place in unsettled conditions, the championship battle and the fight for track position face a very different test from the one suggested by Friday’s weather.