MotoGP Grand Prix of Australia 2018: Race Schedule, Live Stream and Top Riders
Marc Marquez will attempt to win the Australian MotoGP Grand Prix for the third time in four years when he arrives at the Phillip Island Circuit in Victoria on Sunday.
Marquez doesn't need the win, having already been crowned champion after crossing the line first in the last two races in Thailand and Japan earlier this month. The win in Japan was followed by him suffering a dislocated shoulder during the celebration.
Injury aside, Marquez is enjoying a run of dominance saluted by the Guardian's Richard Williams: "The Catalan's five MotoGP titles have come in the six seasons since he graduated from Moto2. As he is only 25, and there is no sign that success is taking the edge off his appetite..."
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As good as he's been, the Honda man can expect a typically tough challenge from Ducati rider Andrea Dovizioso. The Italian finished second in Thailand and at Aragon in Spain, with the latter finish coming after he had topped Marquez in San Marino.
Any challenge to the top two will likely come from Yamaha pair Valentino Rossi and Maverick Vinales. Rossi remains a fierce rival of the champion and criticised his approach recently.
Here's the schedule for race weekend, along with viewing information:
Saturday, October 27
- 1:55 a.m. BST/8:55 p.m. ET(Friday): Free Practice 3
- 5:30 a.m. BST/12:30 a.m. ET: Free Practice 4
- 6:10 a.m. BST/1:10 a.m. ET: Qualifying 1
- 6:35 a.m. BST/1:35 a.m ET: Qualifying 2
Sunday, October 28
- 1:40 a.m. BST/8:40 p.m. ET (Saturday): Warm-Up
- 5 a.m. GMT/1 a.m. ET: Race
TV Info: BT Sport 2
Live Stream: BT Sport App, beIN Sports CONNECT
The close nature of many of this season's races was best summed up by events in Thailand, per MotoGP Australia: "The most recent race in Thailand had a top four (Marquez, Dovizioso, Yamaha's Maverick Vinales and Rossi) split by just 1.564 seconds at the flag, Marquez winning by 0.115 seconds."
Marquez already having a fifth title in the bag doesn't mean there isn't also history at stake for his team. Repsol Honda has a 24th constructors championship in their sights.
The title can stay with Honda if Marquez maintains his impressive form on the Phillip Island track. Aside from winning the race in 2015 and '17, the Spaniard has also managed a pair of podium finishes and been on pole five times, per the team's official website.
Those numbers would intimidate many, but it's unlikely Rossi will be overawed. The 39-year-old won at Victoria back in 2014 and was second two years ago. Rossi knows how to overcome tough starts on this track.
He also knows how to stoke the fires of his rivalry with Marquez, having recently chided the champion for his style of riding, per Jack de Menezes of The Independent: "This is a very bad situation, because he destroyed our sport, because he (doesn't) have any respect for his rivals, never."
Rossi is particularly irked by Marquez's apparent practice of squeezing other riders to the limits of the track. It will be fascinating to see what happens if the two cross paths directly on Sunday.
Dovizioso doesn't need the lure of making history to motivate him. Nor does he need to feel the confidence engendered by experience.
Instead, Dovizioso is likely to be keen to make amends after events in Japan, when he took a tumble on the second-to-last lap to help hand the title to Marquez. The incident was part of what has been a gruelling and at times frustrating season for Ducati's main man.
Dovizioso has been in and around the podium places for most of the campaign, also winning at Masaryk in the Czech Republic Grand Prix, before finishing third on the Red Bull Ring in Austria back in August. Overall, though, there has been a feeling Dovizioso has never quite had enough to seriously trouble Marquez on his path to another title.
Perhaps a win in Victoria can make the Italian believe next year will be the season Ducati can snap Honda's run.
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