MotoGP 2025 Australian Grand Prix: Preview
- Finn Glover
- Oct 17
- 4 min read
Written by Finn Glover, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
Possibly everyone’s favourite race weekend of the season, Phillip Island is back and ready for 22 MotoGP bikes to roar around the paradise island of Victoria. With no Marc Márquez and Marco Bezzecchi to serve a double long lap penalty, it’s anyone’s race this weekend.
The weather here is never guaranteed, and so too is the wildlife. Who knows what will happen this weekend? There’s a whole realm of possibilities!
The Australian Grand Prix: Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
Nestled amongst the lush grasslands of one of Australia’s most biodiverse wildlife hubs, the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit is a spectacle even without bikes on the circuit. Kangaroos, wallabies, birds, and more inhabit this circuit all year long, making the circuit unique and an irreplaceable fixture on the MotoGP calendar.
Circuit-wise, the track is just as spectacular. Spanning 4.44 km (2.76 mi) and 12 iconic corners, it is a rider's favourite, and the vast, sweeping racing lines are a welcome change from the awkwardly thin Mandalika a fortnight ago.
From the long sweeping Doohan Corner to the tight hairpins of Miller and MG, the track offers a real blend, yet it remains one of MotoGP’s fastest and ballsy, where bravery often prevails, and bike inequality fails to surmount.
Races here are renowned for being last-lap nailbiters, and after the Indonesian Grand Prix a fortnight ago, and the uneasy weather expected for Sunday, could we be in for yet again another MotoGP blockbuster?
Past results
Marc Márquez has won here just the four times, including last year, where, after an awful start due to setting on on a tear-off visor strip and spinning up, was down in 13th on lap one. But, an awesome comeback ride got him onto the top step of the podium, after a thrilling battle with Jorge Mártin.
The past few editions of the Australian Grand Prix have produced fairytale victories and storylines, from Johann Zarco’s first ever MotoGP win in 2023 after a last lap frenzy, and Alex Rins winning after a crazy race in 2022, in Suzuki’s farewell season. It is a totally unique track that never fails to throw up a surprise!
Races here, as prior mentioned, often come to the line, and in the past three seasons, the winning margin has never been more than a second. In fact, in 2022, the top seven were separated by just 0.8 seconds! Remarkable!
Zarco and Rins are the only riders racing this weekend to have won a MotoGP race at Phillip Island. This potentially may throw the door wide open, and is this an opportunity Pecco Bagnaia has to grasp with two hands to retain his dignity in a woeful 2025 season?
Key notices
There are a plethora of injury concerns for the weekend, most notably led by Marc Márquez sitting out after his awful accident at his nemesis turn six in Indonesia. This means the 11-time race winner in 2025 will give the opportunity for someone else to take the top stop of the rostrum this weekend and next, and he will be replaced by veteran test rider Michele Pirro. Remarkably, it is the Italian’s 14th consecutive season racing at least one MotoGP race!
Another one missing out is Maverick Viñales, who has never fully recovered following his crash back in July at the Sachsenring. He will be replaced by Pol Espargaró, who replaced the Spaniard brilliantly in Balaton and Brno, finishing a respective eighth and ninth respectively.
Finally, Jorge Mártin is still out following his heinous crash at Motegi, and this weekend, will be replaced by Aprilia veteran Lorenzo Savadori.
On a more positive note, Ai Ogura is back! After missing the last two rounds following a persistent injury sustained at Misano, the Japanese rookie is back, hopefully now seeing out the season.
Marco Bezzecchi will also have to serve a double long lap penalty after causing the incident and injuring the world champion last time out. This has the opportunity to throw the door wide open in terms of the race winner, with the two ‘favourites’ being detrimentally affected this weekend.
And finally, it was announced that we will have another rookie in 2026, with Diogo Moreira officially replacing Somkiat Chantra at LCR Honda in 2025. It will be MotoGP’s first Brazilian rider since Alex Barros in 2007, and upon the return to Brazil with Goiania in 2026, it will be well-received.
Who will be on top down under? We have no idea. We’ve only just had enough time to recover from the Mandalika madness just a week ago, and now, we have another blockbuster in store! Oh, and don’t forget to look out for Thriller Miller this weekend too!
If you're in Europe or America, set your alarms, you won’t want to miss this! The Australian Grand Prix starts at 4 am BST.
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