What an extraordinary weekend of mixed emotions, dashed hopes, (potentially) lucky escapes, reluctant farewells and plain disappointment. Phillip Island has always provided exceptional racing weekends and, if this was to be its last hurrah (for the time being, let us hope), then it was sad it went out with a whimper, not having the send-off it deserves.
We entered the weekend on a wave of expectation and anticipation, with five rounds left of the championship (potentially four, if the proposed Qatar round doesn’t take place) and all to play for in terms of the rider’s championship.
We left the weekend feeling cheated, for both the track itself and potentially the championship, but at least the title race is still wide open. Had Sunday’s Grand Prix taken place, there was the chance that Marquez could be heading to Malaysia with a 35-point lead over Martin. As it is, a ten-point deficit is not impossible to overcome, always assuming, of course, that Martin is fit enough to take part next weekend. A bone in his wrist is fractured but not displaced, although that might well be enough to prevent him from competing safely and to a damage-limitation level of ability.
The Sprint race was an epic, the two title protagonists going at it hammer and tongs, passing and re-passing each other nine times before Martin was a little wide into the very fast turn eight, his front tyre crying “enough”. The tumble through the gravel was difficult to watch, as was the fact he was stretchered away.
Before that moment though, it was a fascinating battle, one that we’ve waited for all season; Martin on the quicker bike, Marquez perhaps the quicker rider on a bike that is not all that far away from the Aprilia. Marquez’ presence either in front of or behind Martin had the air of a shark circling, waiting to attack; one mistake and he makes a break into the distance or pounces to overtake. And Martin made too many mistakes; it’s as simple as that.
Perhaps his worst mistake was being too eager to beat Marquez at any cost. He could have settled for second place and taken the points and been fit to fight the following weekend again. But he’s young and full of fire, while a currently fragile Marquez has gained a new sense of caution and a wait-and-see attitude. Where once he would have been the one fighting a bucking, snaking bike in pursuit of victory, throwing caution to the wind, in this fight he was content to sit back and observe.
When Martin got by and led for a lap, Marquez was able to see how ragged Martin’s riding was, and where he himself was strongest and Martin weakest, so he could plan his attack and, once past, know where to defend. And that’s exactly what he did, while Martin pushed too hard in order to stay with him.
If Martin was lucky that Sunday’s Grand Prix didn’t take place, then we certainly weren’t. As Saturday’s Sprint race – and countless other races there – have proved, Phillip Island is possibly the greatest MotoGP circuit in the world. But the lure of greater riches has decreed that an anonymous circuit that will be created in Adelaide is the way to go in the future, proving (if proof were needed) once and for all that the powers that be have no soul or sense of history or even interest in what both we and the riders want. Yes, Phillip Island is probably a pain to get to, and the facilities for the paying public once there are probably pretty basic, but so what? Why does everything in modern racing have to be tied up in shiny paper with lots of glitter and tinsel and no need for any effort on anyone’s part, other than the effort of opening one’s wallet?
Of course, the big problem with “PI” is the weather, and maybe it was appropriate that Sunday was a wash-out, as if somehow proving that the decision to leave was the right one. The riders actually considered that racing would have been just about possible, but the poor visibility meant that the medical helicopter wouldn’t be able to get to the hospital on the mainland. Safety always has to come first, but it can leave a bitter aftertaste.
So, we head next to Malaysia, the second in a three-consecutive-race-weekends run. That could be very bad news for Martin, with so little time to recover, but let’s not rule him out of championship contention just yet. As Marco Bezzecchi remarked, “as we’ve seen in this championship, anything can happen.” But Martin is going to have to be very strong indeed to withstand the pressure that Marquez will induce.
Then there is also the fact that, because he missed so many races in 2025 through injury, Martin is having to learn how to set up his RS-GP at nearly every track. That showed during practice in Australia, where he was riding the Aprilia, as he used to ride his championship-winning Ducati, and it just wasn’t working for him. He sorted that out, but there was always the feeling that he was playing catch-up to Marquez, and the changing conditions in practice and qualifying didn’t help, either.
Is a Marquez title inevitable? No. But it is increasingly not impossible, and that’s enough to give Marquez confidence. Malaysia will be a good indicator.
