Bezzecchi fights off Fernandez challenge to win Australian GP sprint

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP SPRINT RACE / SOUNDBITE OF SPRINT WINNER MARCO BEZZECCHI / MOTO2 QUALIFYING ACTION / MOTO3 QUALIFYING ACTION SHOWS: PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA (OCTOBER 18, 2025) (DORNA – See restrictions before use) AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP SPRINT RACE 1. RACE START 2. VARIOUS OF RIDERS RACING  3. MARCO BEZZECCHI #72 (ASPRILIA RACING) OVERTAKES ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (BK8 GRESINI RACING MOTOGP) AND TAKES SECOND PLACE  4. BEZZECCHI WOBBLE  5. PEDRO ACOSTA #37 (RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING) OVERTAKES JACK MILLER (PRIMA PRAMAC YAMAHA MOTOGP) AND ALEX MARQUEZ (BK8 GRESINI RACING MOTOGP) AND TAKES THIRD PLACE  6. BEZZECCHI REPLAY OF WARM UP LAP 7. BEZZECCHI OVERTAKES RAUL FERNANDEZ (TRACKHOUSE MOTOGP) AND TAKES THE LEAD  8. BEZZECCHI CROSSING FINISH LINE  9. ACTOR LUKE HEMSWORTH WAVING CHEQUERED FLAG  10. BEZZECCHI CELEBRATING  11. BEZZECCHI ON PODIUM 13. (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX SPRINT WINNER MARCO BEZZECCHI, SAYING:       "I started well and Raul (Fernandez) was incredibly fast at the beginning. I was struggling to catch him. So I spent three to four laps to be close to him. And once I was close, I saw that he was running wide in turn 10, so I wanted to try to prepare the downhill to be closing the last two corners. But to make this, I lost the rear just before the braking of T10, and I got a big shake from the bike. I went wide. Fortunately, I was fast enough to catch him again. It was difficult because he was super, super good. But I felt good on the bike, so… It was a good one."  MOTO 2 QUALIFYING ACTION 10. DIOGO MOREIRA #10 (ITALTRANS RACING TEAM) IN BOX  11. MOREIRA  ON TRACK  12. MOREIRA WITH TEAM POSING FOR PHOTO  13. SENNA AGIUS #81 (LIQUI MOLY DYNAVOLT INTACT GP) ON TRACK  14. MANUEL GONZALEZ #18 (LIQUI MOLY DYNAVOLT INTACT GP) ON TRACK 15. JAKE DIXON (ELF MARC VDS RACING TEAM) ON TRACK  16. DANIEL HOLGADO #27 (CFMOTO POWER ELECTRONICS ASPAR TEAM) ON TRACK  MOTO 3 QUALIFYING ACTION 17. VARIOUS JOEL KELSO #66 ON TRACK 18. KELSO TALKING TO FORMER MOTOGP WORLD CHAMPION CASEY STONER 19. JOSE ANTONIO RUEDA #99(RED BULL KTM AJO) ON TRACK 20. LUCA LUNETTA (SIC58 SQUADRA CORSE) ON TRACK  STORY: Marco Bezzecchi claimed his third sprint victory in four Grand Prix races on Saturday, as the Aprilia rider overcame a dramatic start to beat Trackhouse's Raul Fernandez at the Australian Grand Prix. Bezzecchi, who narrowly missed out on pole position to Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo, hit a seagull as he left the grid for the warm-up lap at Phillip Island. But the 26-year-old Italian kept his composure and overtook Fernandez with three laps remaining in the 13-lap sprint to seal back-to-back sprint wins. "It was pretty hard because at the beginning. I hit a big bird, unfortunately for him, especially. But also, for me, as I got a scare. But luckily nothing was broken on the bike, and I am very sorry for this, of course," Bezzecchi said. "When we started the sprint, I had a lot of fun as Raul was impressive at the beginning, he was super quick. I couldn't catch him and once I did, I made a mistake, so I had to put myself through some difficult laps again. "But it was a fantastic job, I am very happy to win today. This is for my team, my guys and all my fans!" Bezzecchi, who faces a double long lap penalty in Sunday's race due to his collision with MotoGP champion Marc Marquez at the Indonesian Grand Prix, continued his strong form after a stunning comeback to win the Indonesia sprint earlier this month. Fernandez, who started fourth on the grid, made a flying start and led for much of the race but ultimately had to settle for second place. "I was just very relaxed on the bike and just tried not to make any mistakes," the Spaniard said after securing his second successive sprint podium finish. "I saw that Marco came with a strong pace and I tried my maximum. And when I saw that I wasn't able to follow Marco, I just tried to survive because on this kind of track, you need to keep the rear tyre. "But anyway, I'm really happy, thanks to my team and my family. I think this is very important to a lot of us, and let's try to keep it this way, as also in Mandalika, we got some good results, so let's try to enjoy the moment." Home favourite Jack Miller of Prima Pramac, the first Australian rider since Casey Stoner in 2012 to start on the front row at Phillip Island, missed out on a podium finish, as KTM's Pedro Acosta overtook him to claim third place. VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio secured fifth place, while Alex Marquez, second in the riders' championship, finished sixth. Quartararo's hopes of converting his record-breaking lap in qualifying into a strong sprint performance fell short, as the Frenchman finished in seventh place. Meanwhile, twice MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia's season woes continued, as the Italian finished a lowly 19th. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo and Suramya Kaushik)

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