13 October 2022 – Phillip Island – Australia

Three years later we return to the fantastic coasts of Phillip Island in Australia, for the 18th stage of this 2022 World Championship. This championship represents the so desired return to normality, after two very dark years. Moreover, without hiding behind a finger, these last weeks have been very hard for every member of the team, because of the known facts that we now have the duty to put behind us. The Sterilgarda Husqvarna Max Racing had the strength to take some very hard blows, but now it’s time to go back to the track! In these last races we achieved great results, in fact Ayumu got on the podium for three consecutive races and, in the last appointment in Thailand, got a second place that allowed him to get closer to the third position in the championship. So far our Japanese driver has collected eight podiums, with two wins and gained 194 points.

In the previous race John crashed into a slide, after all the weekend he had shown an excellent speed, that allowed him to remain stably in the top positions of the standings. With the harmless slip John has unfortunately interrupted a series of five races always in the points zone, but these last races are the right opportunity to bring home more points.

The Phillip Island circuit is located near a cliff, on a wavy terrain, thanks to which there are important and also very spectacular altitude variations. The Ocean makes the climate very uncertain and represents for all teams a further challenge, looking for the best coverage and the best final ratio, to counter the wind, always present on the main straight. It stretches for a length of 4448 m, with 7 curves on the left and 5 on the right. The starting straight is the longest and extends for about 900 m.

Here are the words of our Ayumu, our John and our Team Owner, the 6 times World Champion Max Biaggi.

AYUMU SASAKI : “I am very excited to race here after three years. It’s one of the fastest track and I really enjoyed riding in Phillip Island in 2019, so I am really looking forward to ride there again. We have 3 podiums in a row now and we want to continue on this path. We are missing a win a little bit, so hopefully we can fight for the top step of the podium at Phillip Island.”

JOHN MCPHEE : “Phillip Island is my favourite round of the season. I’m so excited to get back there for the first time in three years. The fast flowing corners puts a smile on every riders face so I’m looking forward to a great weekend ahead.”

MAX BIAGGI – TEAM OWNER : “Phillip Island is a magical track. I think all drivers like it, even if it is not easy to interpret it to be fast. There are a lot of variables in the game, so teamwork is essential, more than on other tracks. We still have three races ahead of us and although these last weeks have been very hard for everyone, even though we all had to make some tough choices, now it’s time to get back to work and try to finish the season in the best possible way. We still have the opportunity to collect important results, so head down and let’s work hard.”

Statistics

This track was raced for the last time in 2019 and on that occasion to win the Moto3 class was L. Dalla Porta, who on the podium preceded M. Ramirez and A. Arenas. The fastest lap in the race was obtained by R. Fenati, with a time of 1’37.139 and an average of 164.8 Km/h. 1’38.976 is the pole time, obtained by M. Ramirez at an average of 161.7 Km/h.

Ayumu, in the only three years he raced on this circuit, obtained as best result a seventh place both in 2017 and in 2019. John’s best result was two-fifths in 2014 and 2019.

Since 2014 the All Time Lap Record belongs to A. Marquez, who got the time of 1’36.050, at an average of 166.7 km/h, during qualifying, so this time also represents the Best Pole. J. Miller, also in 2014, obtained the Best Race Lap, with a time of 1’36.302 and an average of 166.2 km/h. 252.8 km/h is the Top Speed, reached by J. Guevara in 2014.

Schedule – Local Time (GMT +11)

Here are the times to not miss a session of the Australian Grand Prix.

Thursday 13 October
17:35 – Press Conference

Friday 14 October
09:00 – 09:40 – FP1 Moto3
13:15 – 13:55 – FP2 Moto3

Saturday 15 October
09:00 – 09:40 – FP3 Moto3
12:35 – 12:50 – Q1 Moto3
13:00 – 13:15 – Q2 Moto3

Sunday 16 October
09:00 – 09:10 – WUP Moto3
11:00 – RACE Moto3