Sunday MotoGP Race Scrapped at Phillip Island

Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix was cancelled due to poor visibility, leaving Marc Marquez with a 10-point championship lead over Jorge Martin ahead of the Malaysian GP at Sepang.

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Marc Marquez secured victory in a dramatic MotoGP Sprint at the Australian Grand Prix, while championship rival Jorge Martin suffered a wrist injury following a high-speed crash at Phillip Island. 

Sunday’s main event was ultimately called off due to poor visibility, which rendered the medical helicopter unable to operate. The decision forced race officials to cancel the remainder of the event, including the scheduled Moto3 and Moto2 races.

Nevertheless, Race Direction permitted the MotoGP class to complete an honor lap around the storied Phillip Island layout, allowing the grid to acknowledge the crowd that had weathered heavy rain throughout the day. The occasion provided a fittingly emotional send-off for Jack Miller in his final appearance at Phillip Island aboard a premier-class machine.

The cancellation also marked the end of MotoGP’s nearly three-decade run at the waterfront Phillip Island circuit, with the Australian Grand Prix scheduled to move to a city-centre street circuit in Adelaide from 2027.

Despite Sunday’s cancellation, Saturday’s 13-lap Sprint delivered an intense battle between Marquez and Martin, with the championship lead at stake as the season approaches its final rounds.

Starting from pole position, Marquez of the Lenovo Ducati team led into Turn 1, while championship leader Martin, who started fourth, made an excellent launch to position himself behind his title rival during the opening lap.

Alex Marquez of BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP briefly passed Martin at Turn 10 on the second lap, but the Aprilia rider responded immediately at Turn 1 to reclaim his position.

For the next several laps, Marc Marquez and Martin traded positions and fought closely at the front. However, the pressure eventually caught up with Martin on lap eight. After clipping the kerb at Turn 7, he lost control of his Aprilia at Turn 8 while travelling at more than 130mph.

The crash left Martin with a fractured radius and a suspected fracture of the ulna near his right wrist. With Martin out of the race, Marc Marquez went on to secure victory, with his brother Alex Marquez finishing second. Fabio Di Giannantonio of Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team completed the podium in third, giving Ducati machinery a clean sweep of the top three positions.

Speaking after the race, Marc Marquez admitted that he had been pushing hard to defend his position against Martin, whose pace had been difficult to match.

He said he was pleased with the victory but expressed sympathy for his rival, wishing Martin a speedy recovery and hoping to see him return to racing soon.

Martin also reflected on the crash, describing it as unfortunate but highlighting that his immediate concern was his condition following the high-speed incident. He said further medical examinations would determine how his recovery progressed over the following days.

Behind the podium finishers, Marco Bezzecchi of Aprilia Racing recovered from ninth on the grid to take fourth, followed by Pedro Acosta of Red Bull KTM. Acosta’s teammate Brad Binder finished sixth after Ai Ogura received a post-race penalty related to tyre pressure.

The Sprint victory proved crucial for Marquez’s championship campaign, allowing him to establish a 10-point lead over Martin as MotoGP heads to Malaysia for the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia at Sepang International Circuit.

Martin’s participation in the Malaysian round remains a major talking point as he looks to recover from his injuries. With the championship gap still relatively small, the title battle could take another dramatic turn at Sepang, provided Martin receives medical clearance to compete.