Phillip Island first showed us what it was all about in 1989 and has been the host of the Australian GP since 1997. Countless memories, showdowns and runs to the line have been witnessed in that time. Before we bid farewell to ‘The Island’ and write a new chapter in Adelaide from 2027, we could well be in for one of the most important Grands Prix of the season so far. Two points is the difference between two rivals who battled hard here two years ago, and the stakes couldn’t be higher as the title race gets set for five GPs in six weeks where by the end of it all, one champion will be crowned.
MARTIN VS MARQUEZ: the title run-in intensifies
You’d have been a brave pundit to predict that Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) would leave Mandalika with the exact same two-point deficit as when he entered but that’s what the reigning Champion did. An Aprilia 1-2-3-4 on Sunday, with Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) in third kept the Martinator ahead and whilst Aprilia were strong in Australia last year, it’ll be new territory on the RS-GP for the #89. What we can hope for is a repeat of their epic, Grand Prix-of-the-season battle from 2024, that time going the way of the #93. As for 2026, Martin remains with just one victory but has been on the Grand Prix podium in the last three whilst Marquez only has six Sunday podiums – all of them victories.
BEZZECCHI RESILIENT: has he saved his Bezt until last?
It wasn’t long ago that Bezzecchi’s title hopes seemed to be fading but he, like Martin, has been on the podium in the last three GPs and finally got back to Grand Prix winning ways at Mandalika. Five of the last six GPs on the rostrums and Phillip Island’s Sprint winner from 2025, the #72 is 46 points back from Martin but still very much determined in his bid for the title. He’s 50 clear of Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team), making it a realistic three-horse title fight with five rounds remaining. This was the part of the season last year where Bezzecchi seemed to have an extra gear and hit the form he carried into the early part of 2026 - can he do it again one year on?
CHASING PACK: 2026 Grand Prix winners and 2025 Phillip Island stunners
Ogura is fourth by a single point over Austrian GP winner Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), with the Spaniard not having the happiest of times in Japan or Indonesia. The battle for fourth is a four-way fight with Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) in hot pursuit whilst Raul Fernandez’s (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) P2 at Mandalika reignites his charge. The #25 won in MotoGP for the first time at Phillip Island last year and it was Diggia who clinched P2 just behind, so 2026 could be interesting. Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini MotoGP Team), teammate Fermin Aldeguer and double World Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) complete the top ten in the standings, but Aldeguer is once again on the sidelines after his hand injury picked up in Lombok, replaced by Iker Lecuona as he was earlier in the year.
FURTHER BACK: the tight battle just off the top ten, Miller readies for final home GP
Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) is just two points behind Aldeguer in the top ten battle overall and fellow countryman Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol) is just a further 14 behind, hoping he can keep his streak of points in every GP in 2026 going Down Under. Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) is just four points off Marini too, and has been a top eight finisher in the last three Australian Grands Prix, whilst top Yamaha Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has enjoyed points in the last two Grands Prix and Sprints.
Top rookie in 2026 Diogo Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) is tied on points with Quartararo and just 15 ahead of Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), who in-turn is just eight ahead of 2023 Australian GP winner Johann Zarco (Castrol Honda LCR). All home eyes will be on Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), however. He’ll aim to bow out of MotoGP with one final strong showing at his home Grand Prix where he was mighty close to the Sprint podium in 2025. Teammate Toprak Razgatlioglu returns to a circuit he knows from WorldSBK, with his first points since Misano the target and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) is one of five Australian GP winners lining up on the grid, the other being Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech3) who is also looking for more as he rebuilds from a long layoff. Joan Mir’s (Honda HRC Castrol) attendance remains to be confirmed by Honda as he struggles with illness, so stay tuned for an update there.
Two points at the top, another key contender with an impressive form book and five GPs in six weeks await. There's plenty more to come in 2026 so get ready for another awesome, and final, show from the Island.
