Phillip Island.- The best record was taken by Marc Márquez, the fifth practice he has led since he returned from his fourth operation, even though the Honda man had the help of Aleix Espargaró, who served as a hare in his last attempt to quick turn.
The one from Cervera (Lleida) led Luca Marini by just over a tenth, who, in turn, beat Jorge Martín by 24 thousandths. Espargaró finished fourth, less than two tenths behind the head and a half ahead of Marco Bezzecchi (fifth). Jack Miller was sixth, just ahead of Alex Marquez, in one of the best grands prix of the course for the LCR racer.
Pecco Bagnaia, Quartararo’s first pursuer in the points table – he is two behind him – finished eighth, while Maverick Viñales finished ninth.
In a last kidney blow and with time running out, the current champion and leader of the general classification of the championship, got into the group of drivers who will compete for the first 12 positions on the grid, in Q2. Only four tenths separated him (tenth) from Márquez, a fact that unequivocally reflects the equality that currently prevails in MotoGP.
The Devil got in by the hairs and with less than half a tenth of a margin over Johann Zarco, the undisputed dominator of Friday’s session but who, this Saturday, will have to go through qualifying (Q1).
There he will meet Joan Mir (12th), Enea Bastianini (14th) and Alex Rins (17th).
Session results:
| Cla | # | Pilot | Motorcycle | laps | Weather | Difference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 93 |  Marc Márquez |
 |
Sling | twenty | 1,28,462 | |
| 2 | 10 |  Luca Marini |
 |
Ducati | 20 | 1’28.592 | 0.130 |
| 3 | 89 | Jorge Martin |
 |
Ducati | 20 | 1’28,616 | 0.154 |
| 4 | 41 | Aleix Espargaró |
 |
April | 21 | 1’28,639 | 0.177 |
| 5 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi |
 |
Ducati | 21 | 1’28.690 | 0.228 |
| 6 | 43 |  Jack Miller |
 |
Ducati | 22 | 1’28.721 | 0.259 |
| 7 | 73 | Alex Marquez |
 |
Sling | 22 | 1’28,765 | 0.303 |
| 8 | 63 | Pecco Bagnaia |
 |
Ducati | 19 | 1’28.768 | 0.306 |
| 9 | 12 | Maverick Viñales |
|
Aprilia | 20 | 1’28.777 | 0.315 |
| 10 | 20 |  Fabio Quartararo |
 |
Yamaha | 23 | 1’28,858 | 0.396 |
| 11 | 5 | Johann Zarco |
 |
Ducati | 20 | 1’28.903 | 0.441 |
| 12 | 36 | Joan Mir |
 |
Suzuki | 20 | 1’28.920 | 0.458 |
| 13 | 35 |  Cal Crutchlow |
 |
Yamaha | 20 | 1’28.945 | 0.483 |
| 14 | 23 | Enea Bastianini |
 |
Ducati | 20 | 1’29.023 | 0.561 |
| fifteen | 44 | Pol Espargaro |
 |
Sling | 18 | 1’29,095 | 0.633 |
| 16 | 88 |  Miguel Oliveira |
 |
KTM | 19 | 1’29,133 | 0.671 |
| 17 | 42 | Alex Rins |
 |
Suzuki | 20 | 1’29.144 | 0.682 |
| 18 | 49 | Fabio Di Giannantonio |
 |
Ducati | 20 | 1’29.526 | 1,064 |
| 19 | 25 | Raúl Fernández |
 |
KTM | 17 | 1’29.527 | 1.065 |
| 20 | 33 |  Brad Binder |
 |
KTM | 22 | 1’29.589 | 1.127 |
| 21 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli |
 |
Yamaha | 22 | 1’29.654 | 1.192 |
| 22 | 87 | Remy Gardner |
 |
KTM | 21 | 1’29.691 | 1.229 |
| twenty three | 45 |  Tetsuta Nagashima |
 |
Honda | 19 | 1’30.073 | 1.611 |
| 24 | 40 | Darryn Binder |
 |
Yamaha | 20 | 1’30.336 | 1,874 |
| see results | |||||||
