MotoGP: Riders Preview Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix – Road Racing World Magazine

The start of an intriguing and crucial triple-header in MotoGP™ arrives as we touch on a rider and fan favorite for Round 17 – the incredible Phillip Island. Ahead of what looks to be an unpredictable weekend at the Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, the two headliners and our other key names sat down in front of the media on Thursday.

Press Conference 1 Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) sits alongside title rival Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), joined by Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GAASGAS Tech3) and 2023 winner Yohan Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) alongside country hero Jack Miller. (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) Press Conference 2.

Check out the highlights of the day and come back for more when the track action on Legendary Island kicks off on Friday!
Thursday speech from Australia

“55% Martin, 45% Peco” – How close is the 2024 title fight?

Acosta weighed his own question at his first press conference…
Di Giannantonio is going to miss the Malaysian and Valencia GPs.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) has announced that he will return to Italy after the Thai GP to undergo surgery on his left shoulder. As a result, the Italian will miss the Malaysian GP and the Valencia GP as he intends to fully train for 2025.
Press Releases: Qatar Airways Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix

Watch: Press Conference 1
George Martin (Prima Pramac Racing)
Is this the hardest weekend ever?
“It’s going to be a really challenging weekend, not only because it’s the last part of the season, but the weather is very different here every day, we have a new surface and different tires compared to last season. And we saw last year that it’s going to be key, asking and analyzing data so we can quickly understand what we need for Sunday’s race.

How do you feel about narrowing the title gap and is this the most important part of the season?
“It’s going to be the most important part because that’s what’s left. There are some parts of the season where Peco was close or in front, so the important thing for me is to reach Valencia with options. There are still three races where we can make mistakes, and certainly, they will have great consequences; It’s more important, and if you make a mistake, it’s a disaster. We should try to be really confident and competitive.

How special would it be to win in Australia?
“It’s a great track, and one of the best tracks to drive on. I’d love to win at this point, but the main thing is the championship. I’ll think more about that, but if I get the chance, I’ll take it 100%. It would be great to win here.”

Is Acosta someone to watch over the next four races?
I think Pedro is very strong and he had a chance to win in Japan, but he also crashed, I think he wants to win his first MotoGP™ this season. He will be very strong, but we have Mark and Ine who are very strong and have their own battles and are trying to win.

Pedro Acosta: Does the manufacturer affect the championship battle?
“For me, I can’t control that, so I don’t focus on that, I focus on driving, but I hope I don’t. I focus on what I can control, which is riding 100% and trying and being fast.

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team)
Big challenge coming up this weekend?
“We’ve been talking about this before and I think the most difficult thing will be understanding the tires because it seems like we don’t have a dry session to understand what the tires will do for the race. The soft tires are medium from last year, and last year without the new tarmac, it was a bit on the limit, so let’s understand it. We will have tires with a. So we have to try and understand the conditions, it will be raining tomorrow, and it looks good on Sunday, and as always, Phillip Island It’s complicated, but the asphalt looks really good, and we hope to have a better feeling compared to last year.

Do you think you can lead the world championship after this weekend?
“What we’ve learned is that it’s not mandatory to lead the championship, it happens, but it doesn’t matter whether we get points or lose because we understand that this will happen. It was decided in Valencia, it will be very complicated to decide before. We know that the potential is to win so we will try everything to win and try and try to get points like Indonesia and continue this in Thailand.

How special would it be to win in Australia?
“I had the opportunity for the first time in Moto3, but I had some complicated races in the battle we were having. In Moto2, it was a disaster for me in both years, and in MotoGP, I was close in 2022 and 2023, but you never know. We will try again this year, but we have to think about the championship and try to get the maximum without taking too many risks, and here at Phillip Island, not taking too many risks is a big thing.

Is Acosta someone to watch over the next four races?
“No one expected his performance in Indonesia, but what happened with the tire pressure. I only think about Motegi, and he was fast, it was true. He was very competitive from the beginning of the weekend, and I expected him to be competitive because KTM is always fast in Japan. And he’s a strong braking rider. He was fighting for his first win, so we already knew Pedro’s potential, he was great at the start, but then he seems to have come back. This track is good for everyone, the bike here It makes little difference because it’s so fast, and it’s hard to make that difference, so I think it’s hard to see someone opening up a gap.

Pedro Acosta: Does the manufacturer affect the championship battle?
If you want to help me in some way, I think that previously at Misano, I could have had something better than what was already our package, because we tested a new chassis and the chassis is not ready for everyone, so we are not. By using It is more correct that it is like this, and Daliegna was always clear that I started traveling with Ducati and the last two seasons the factory team has the same package, and if I have something new, then everyone. It has something new. It is a different strategy compared to others, but it is the strategy that Ducati has put in place. Now Ducati is very competitive because of this strategy, and I don’t think we will change anything until Valencia.

Watch: Press Conference 2
Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GAASGAS Tech3)
How long are you waiting for the exam?
“Japan was good, it was like a dream, but we have to look at the best, it was the weekend where I was most competitive all season, and we have to look at the progress we made in the last two races. And normally I’m looking forward to this track which is my favorite of the calendar, also the atmosphere is great. “

Where do you think you’re making the difference, and what will be the bike’s strong points here at Phillip Island?
“Let’s see, it’s a completely different track than Japan, and I think we’re improving little things because in the last two races a lot of us tried a lot of things like Jack in aero. For this, I think at the beginning of the winter, we were trying to do a lot of ways to ride, but maybe there was only one way to ride this KTM bike, but we are finding our way to be fast. “

Do you think Ducati can beat it here?
“Yes, I said that in Japan they are not invincible and untouchable like everyone else and we thought. It is true that they are at a very good level and are one step ahead of everyone else, but we are not far behind. In this way we have to believe and keep pushing, and at Matighofen, they are doing a great job to bring us new things. It is not easy, and I think that in the last races, we are using new things, and I think it is working. We have to be open, listen to what the factory and the test team have to say and try to follow their path.

Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
How special is it to be back here and riding with the fans?
“First and foremost, it’s always good to come home, especially with a short trip from Townsville and spend the week at home. When I came to the island yesterday and today with some amazing things, I don’t think it will stay like that because it has already started to appear there. I mean, we had a beautiful couple of days, and when the sun comes out, the whole area is fantastic. It’s great to kick back and feel the love; It’s something special, and every year, it gets better and better. It’s been 10 years since we won the competition, and it seems like yesterday.

What is the actual result?
I think, as we have seen over the years in the island, if you have some minor issues, you can hide here. Fingers crossed, we could be heading into a strong weekend, the weather will be fine throughout Friday and Saturday. The lower the dry track time, the better, I feel like I hit the ground running, but to make progress on FP1 throughout this season. I feel like the least amount of dry track time will help me because the speed has been making improvements over the weekend since the start.

How impressed are you with Pedro Acosta?
“He rides like a seasoned veteran, so it’s easy to forget he’s a rookie. He’s leading the way for us, and Brad is doing a great job as well. There’s no hiding that I’ve had my issues, and I think the guys are doing a fantastic job of riding around and putting the bike where it needs to be on Saturday and Sunday.

Johan Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR)
How special is it to return to Phillip Island a year after your first MotoGP™ win?
“Just getting to the island was a great feeling because apart from last year’s win, Phillip Island has a special flavor. When I arrived yesterday, the weather was great so you just look around and you’re happy. I was riding the bike on the track in the morning, and I was thinking about when I led the race in the last two corners. I felt good, and I got this first win. It was great and I’m still very happy that it happened here because the corners are special here, which makes the victory even better. Let’s see how we can do with these long corners and so on Let’s see if we can get closer.

How confident are you that you can fight in the top 10 in Australia?
“Obviously, the last two GPs gave me and the team a good boost, even in Japan where Friday didn’t start well, but the two races we had then were very interesting. It doesn’t look like a speeding track where we have vehicle problems here. I hope that we will lose less time for the other, and if it continues to work, this means that the step we started in Misano is working in the future, and we will confirm it here, and it will be positive for Honda knowing that they are. We can understand and move forward.