Fabio Quartararo: “The season is suddenly going by very quickly”

In terms of results, Phillip Island has been one of the trickiest venues on the calendar for 2021 MotoGP world champion Fabio Quartararo.

Last year’s 14th place in the rescheduled Saturday grand prix was the first time the Monster Yamaha rider reached the chequered flag in the premier class, after crashing in the 2019 (hit by Petrucci on the opening lap) and 2022 Australian events.

Although he qualified strongly for both 'DNF' races, with second and fifth on the grid respectively, last year saw the M1 rider line up just 17th and then team-mate Franco Morbidelli 20th.

Before reaching MotoGP, the Frenchman claimed a best Phillip Island race finish of tenth in the Moto2 and Moto3 classes.

As such, it's probably not the ideal venue for Quartararo to try and turn the page on the rear grip woes (and a lack of fuel) that left him a distant twelfth during the Motegi Sprint and GP races, losing over one-second a lap to the winner.

However, Australia has at least proven ‘neutral’ regarding recent winning manufacturers.

Yamaha (Maverick Vinales, 2018), Honda (Marc Marquez, 2019), Suzuki (Alex Rins, 2022) and Ducati (Johann Zarco, 2023) have all taken turns at the top in the last four Phillip Island races.

“After the Japanese GP, I went to Bali to enjoy the sun, relax, and also to train and get ready for the next rounds. I preferred to stay in a similar time zone to minimise the jet lag, because staying 100% fit is a key part of triple headers,” said Quartararo, who had matched his season-best of seventh place in the three grands prix before Japan.

“The season is suddenly going by very quickly: there are only four GPs left, and we still have a lot of work to do.

“Hopefully, we can do a 'normal' and most of all 'complete' race weekend here in Australia this time round, because I know the Australian fans always bring a good atmosphere.”

Quartararo is 13th in the world championship, three places and 48 points behind where he had been ranked with four rounds to go last season.

However, he is 50 points clear of top Honda rider Zarco.

Team-mate and former Phillip Island winner Rins, who missed last year’s event due to healing leg injuries, is a three-time podium finisher at the seaside track.

“After a one-week break, we are ready to go again. I have good memories of the Phillip Island Circuit. It suits me very well, so let's see what we can do,” said Rins, who was ‘devastated’ to finish 16th and ahead of only wild-card Remy Gardner in Japan

“For sure, we have a lot of work to do. We hope we'll have good weather conditions so we can focus on the development of the bike.”

Rins, who missed two mid-season rounds due to injuries, is 19th in the world championship.