स्पोर्ट्स

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)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM DODGERS PLAYER AND NLCS MVP SHOHEI OHTANI AND DODGERS MANAGER DAVE ROBERTS AFTER NLCS FIVE  SHOWS: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 17, 2025) (MLB – Editorial Use Only. No monetisation) 1. SHOHEI OHTANI, DODGERS STARTING PITCHER AND DH SPEAKING AT POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE WITH TRANSLATOR WILL IRETON AFTER NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES GAME FOUR AT DODGER STADIUM 2. (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese with English Translation) SHOHEI OHTANI AFTER BEING ASKED IF HE WANTED TO MAKE TONIGHT A STATEMENT GAME, SAYING: "I really focused on, first of all, first and foremost, as a starting pitcher to make sure I'm an effective starting pitcher. On the hitting side, looking at the whole entire team, we will see that at times the right-handed hitters picked us up. And on the flip side, sometimes the left-handed hitters picked us up. So in a sense we're just trying to find the right balance." 3. WHITE FLASH 4. (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese with English Translation) SHOHEI OHTANI AFTER BEING ASKED ABOUT SOME PEOPLE SAYING THIS WAS THE GREATEST PLAYOFF GAME EVER IN MLB HISTORY, SAYING: "As I stated before, there were at times during the postseason where Teo (Hernandez) and Mookie (Betts) picked me up. And this time around it was my turn to be able to perform. And I think just looking back over the course of the entire postseason, I haven't performed to the expectation, but I think today we saw what the left-handed hitters could do." 5. WHITE FLASH 6. (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese with English Translation) SHOHEI OHTANI AFTER BEING ASKED WHAT PART OF HIS PITCHING WORKED SO WELL, SAYING: "The last several days, we did a pretty good job, as a starting pitching, being able to get outs and be effective. And just looking at the entire lineup, my impression that I had was that it's a very tough, effective lineup. Talking with Will Smith, we had a pretty good game plan going into the game and we were able to execute it. 7. DODGERS MANAGER DAVE ROBERTS SPEAKING AT POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE 8. (SOUNDBITE)(English) DODGERS MANAGER DAVE ROBERTS AFTER BEING ASKED TO DESCRIBE OHTANI'S PERFORMANCE, SAYING: "That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time. There's been a lot of postseason games. And there's a reason why he's the greatest player on the planet. What he did on the mound, what he did at the bat, he created a lot of memories for a lot of people. So for us to have a game-clinching, to do it in a game-clinching (NLCS clinching) game at home, wins the NLCS MVP, pretty special. I'm just happy to be able to go along for the ride." 9. WHITE FLASH 10. (SOUNDBITE)(English) DODGERS MANAGER DAVE ROBERTS AFTER BEING ASKED ABOUT OHTANI MAINTAINING HIS CONFIDENCE DURING DIFFICULT POSTSEASON, SAYING: "Yeah, you know, I just don't know how he handles sort of the expectations, because a lot of times when you have expectations like he has, they're just unattainable and you just never realize them. Certainly the way he was struggling this postseason and not to let it affect him and keep his psyche, his confidence the same is really impressive. So we knew that he was going to come through at some point. And what better night to do it while he was pitching too." 11. WHITE FLASH 12. (SOUNDBITE)(English) DODGERS MANAGER DAVE ROBERTS AFTER BEING ASKED ABOUT SWEEPING THE BREWERS AND PLAYING SO WELL IN POSTSEASON, SAYING: "I think we're just in a zone. We're focused on playing good baseball. And I still think that there's a lot of low-hanging fruit offensively. But it's just a very talented group. It's a very focused and very hungry group. So I think that when you get those components, it's tough to beat. And we mind the little things. We're hungry. We don't really care what happened before. And we're playing good baseball. We're healthy and we've still got some work to do, though." STORY: Shohei Ohtani was a one-man show, hitting three home runs and striking out 10 in six-plus scoreless innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to the World Series for the second consecutive season with a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday (October 17). Ohtani hit home runs in the first, fourth and seventh innings as the defending champion Dodgers swept the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. Los Angeles will attempt to become the first team to win consecutive titles since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000. Ohtani (2-0), who gave up two hits and walked three, became the first pitcher in MLB history — regular season or postseason — to hit three home runs and strike out at least one in the same game. The two-way star went deep for the first time since he hit a pair of homers in the wild-card-round opener against the Cincinnati Reds. The three-time MVP entered the night batting .121 (4-for-33) over his previous eight games. Los Angeles is headed to the World Series for the fifth time in nine seasons, getting past the Brewers in the NLCS for the second time in that stretch (2018). Veteran left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits over two-plus innings as the Brewers saw their season end after compiling the majors' best regular-season record at 97-65. Quintana walked one and fanned one. Milwaukee ended the four-game series with four total runs on 14 hits. Ohtani opened the game from the mound by walking Brice Turang. He followed that by striking out the next three Milwaukee batters, then led off the bottom of the first inning with a 446-foot home run to right field on Quintana's sixth pitch. He became the first Dodgers pitcher to hit a home run in a playoff game. The Dodgers put up two more runs in the first inning, taking a 3-0 lead on an RBI single from Tommy Edman and a run-scoring groundout from Teoscar Hernandez. Ohtani did not give up a hit until Jackson Chourio doubled to lead off the fourth. The right-hander retired the next three Milwaukee batters, including the last two by strikeout. Ohtani belted a 469-foot home run in the fourth inning that landed on top of the corrugated metal roof at the back of the right field bleachers. He added a 427-foot homer to center field in the seventh as the Dodgers took a 5-0 lead. After he walked Christian Yelich and gave up a single to William Contreras to open the top of the seventh inning, Ohtani left the mound to a standing ovation. Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Anthony Banda and Roki Sasaki recorded the final nine outs. The Brewers' lone run came on a Turang RBI forceout in the eighth. (Production: David Grip)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: SOUNDBITES FROM DODGERS PLAYER AND NLCS MVP SHOHEI OHTANI AND DODGERS MANAGER DAVE ROBERTS AFTER NLCS FIVE  SHOWS: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (OCTOBER 17, 2025) (MLB – Editorial Use Only. No monetisation) 1. SHOHEI OHTANI, DODGERS STARTING PITCHER AND DH SPEAKING AT POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE WITH TRANSLATOR WILL IRETON AFTER NATIONAL LEAGUE CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES GAME FOUR AT DODGER STADIUM 2. (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese with English Translation) SHOHEI OHTANI AFTER BEING ASKED IF HE WANTED TO MAKE TONIGHT A STATEMENT GAME, SAYING: "I really focused on, first of all, first and foremost, as a starting pitcher to make sure I'm an effective starting pitcher. On the hitting side, looking at the whole entire team, we will see that at times the right-handed hitters picked us up. And on the flip side, sometimes the left-handed hitters picked us up. So in a sense we're just trying to find the right balance." 3. WHITE FLASH 4. (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese with English Translation) SHOHEI OHTANI AFTER BEING ASKED ABOUT SOME PEOPLE SAYING THIS WAS THE GREATEST PLAYOFF GAME EVER IN MLB HISTORY, SAYING: "As I stated before, there were at times during the postseason where Teo (Hernandez) and Mookie (Betts) picked me up. And this time around it was my turn to be able to perform. And I think just looking back over the course of the entire postseason, I haven't performed to the expectation, but I think today we saw what the left-handed hitters could do." 5. WHITE FLASH 6. (SOUNDBITE)(Japanese with English Translation) SHOHEI OHTANI AFTER BEING ASKED WHAT PART OF HIS PITCHING WORKED SO WELL, SAYING: "The last several days, we did a pretty good job, as a starting pitching, being able to get outs and be effective. And just looking at the entire lineup, my impression that I had was that it's a very tough, effective lineup. Talking with Will Smith, we had a pretty good game plan going into the game and we were able to execute it. 7. DODGERS MANAGER DAVE ROBERTS SPEAKING AT POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE 8. (SOUNDBITE)(English) DODGERS MANAGER DAVE ROBERTS AFTER BEING ASKED TO DESCRIBE OHTANI'S PERFORMANCE, SAYING: "That was probably the greatest postseason performance of all time. There's been a lot of postseason games. And there's a reason why he's the greatest player on the planet. What he did on the mound, what he did at the bat, he created a lot of memories for a lot of people. So for us to have a game-clinching, to do it in a game-clinching (NLCS clinching) game at home, wins the NLCS MVP, pretty special. I'm just happy to be able to go along for the ride." 9. WHITE FLASH 10. (SOUNDBITE)(English) DODGERS MANAGER DAVE ROBERTS AFTER BEING ASKED ABOUT OHTANI MAINTAINING HIS CONFIDENCE DURING DIFFICULT POSTSEASON, SAYING: "Yeah, you know, I just don't know how he handles sort of the expectations, because a lot of times when you have expectations like he has, they're just unattainable and you just never realize them. Certainly the way he was struggling this postseason and not to let it affect him and keep his psyche, his confidence the same is really impressive. So we knew that he was going to come through at some point. And what better night to do it while he was pitching too." 11. WHITE FLASH 12. (SOUNDBITE)(English) DODGERS MANAGER DAVE ROBERTS AFTER BEING ASKED ABOUT SWEEPING THE BREWERS AND PLAYING SO WELL IN POSTSEASON, SAYING: "I think we're just in a zone. We're focused on playing good baseball. And I still think that there's a lot of low-hanging fruit offensively. But it's just a very talented group. It's a very focused and very hungry group. So I think that when you get those components, it's tough to beat. And we mind the little things. We're hungry. We don't really care what happened before. And we're playing good baseball. We're healthy and we've still got some work to do, though." STORY: Shohei Ohtani was a one-man show, hitting three home runs and striking out 10 in six-plus scoreless innings as the Los Angeles Dodgers advanced to the World Series for the second consecutive season with a 5-1 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Friday (October 17). Ohtani hit home runs in the first, fourth and seventh innings as the defending champion Dodgers swept the best-of-seven National League Championship Series. Los Angeles will attempt to become the first team to win consecutive titles since the New York Yankees won three straight from 1998-2000. Ohtani (2-0), who gave up two hits and walked three, became the first pitcher in MLB history — regular season or postseason — to hit three home runs and strike out at least one in the same game. The two-way star went deep for the first time since he hit a pair of homers in the wild-card-round opener against the Cincinnati Reds. The three-time MVP entered the night batting .121 (4-for-33) over his previous eight games. Los Angeles is headed to the World Series for the fifth time in nine seasons, getting past the Brewers in the NLCS for the second time in that stretch (2018). Veteran left-hander Jose Quintana (0-1) allowed three runs on six hits over two-plus innings as the Brewers saw their season end after compiling the majors' best regular-season record at 97-65. Quintana walked one and fanned one. Milwaukee ended the four-game series with four total runs on 14 hits. Ohtani opened the game from the mound by walking Brice Turang. He followed that by striking out the next three Milwaukee batters, then led off the bottom of the first inning with a 446-foot home run to right field on Quintana's sixth pitch. He became the first Dodgers pitcher to hit a home run in a playoff game. The Dodgers put up two more runs in the first inning, taking a 3-0 lead on an RBI single from Tommy Edman and a run-scoring groundout from Teoscar Hernandez. Ohtani did not give up a hit until Jackson Chourio doubled to lead off the fourth. The right-hander retired the next three Milwaukee batters, including the last two by strikeout. Ohtani belted a 469-foot home run in the fourth inning that landed on top of the corrugated metal roof at the back of the right field bleachers. He added a 427-foot homer to center field in the seventh as the Dodgers took a 5-0 lead. After he walked Christian Yelich and gave up a single to William Contreras to open the top of the seventh inning, Ohtani left the mound to a standing ovation. Alex Vesia, Blake Treinen, Anthony Banda and Roki Sasaki recorded the final nine outs. The Brewers' lone run came on a Turang RBI forceout in the eighth. (Production: David Grip)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP SPRINT RACE / SOUNDBITE OF SPRINT WINNER MARCO BEZZECCHI / MOTO2 QUALIFYING ACTION / MOTO3 QUALIFYING ACTION COMPLETE SCRIPT TO FOLLOW SHOWS: PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA (OCTOBER 18, 2025) (DORNA – See restrictions before use) AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP SPRINT RACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX SPRINT WINNER MARCO BEZZECCHI, SAYING: MOTO 2 QUALIFYING ACTION MOTO 3 QUALIFYING ACTION COMPLETE SHOTLIST TO FOLLOW STORY: Marco Bezzecchi claimed his third sprint victory in four Grand Prix races on Saturday (October 18), as the Aprilia rider overcame a dramatic start to beat Trackhouse's Raul Fernandez at the Australian Grand Prix. The 26-year-old Italian, 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 he kept his composure and overtook Fernandez with four laps remaining in the 13-lap sprint to seal back-to-back sprint wins. 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. 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. 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, with the Italian finishing a lowly 19th. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP SPRINT RACE / SOUNDBITE OF SPRINT WINNER MARCO BEZZECCHI / MOTO2 QUALIFYING ACTION / MOTO3 QUALIFYING ACTION COMPLETE SCRIPT TO FOLLOW SHOWS: PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA (OCTOBER 18, 2025) (DORNA – See restrictions before use) AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP SPRINT RACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX SPRINT WINNER MARCO BEZZECCHI, SAYING: MOTO 2 QUALIFYING ACTION MOTO 3 QUALIFYING ACTION COMPLETE SHOTLIST TO FOLLOW STORY: Marco Bezzecchi claimed his third sprint victory in four Grand Prix races on Saturday (October 18), as the Aprilia rider overcame a dramatic start to beat Trackhouse's Raul Fernandez at the Australian Grand Prix. The 26-year-old Italian, 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 he kept his composure and overtook Fernandez with four laps remaining in the 13-lap sprint to seal back-to-back sprint wins. 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. 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. 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, with the Italian finishing a lowly 19th. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP SPRINT RACE / SOUNDBITE OF SPRINT WINNER MARCO BEZZECCHI / MOTO2 QUALIFYING ACTION / MOTO3 QUALIFYING ACTION COMPLETE SCRIPT TO FOLLOW SHOWS: PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA (OCTOBER 18, 2025) (DORNA – See restrictions before use) AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP SPRINT RACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX SPRINT WINNER MARCO BEZZECCHI, SAYING: MOTO 2 QUALIFYING ACTION MOTO 3 QUALIFYING ACTION COMPLETE SHOTLIST TO FOLLOW STORY: Marco Bezzecchi claimed his third sprint victory in four Grand Prix races on Saturday (October 18), as the Aprilia rider overcame a dramatic start to beat Trackhouse's Raul Fernandez at the Australian Grand Prix. The 26-year-old Italian, 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 he kept his composure and overtook Fernandez with four laps remaining in the 13-lap sprint to seal back-to-back sprint wins. 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. 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. 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, with the Italian finishing a lowly 19th. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP SPRINT RACE / SOUNDBITE OF SPRINT WINNER MARCO BEZZECCHI / MOTO2 QUALIFYING ACTION / MOTO3 QUALIFYING ACTION COMPLETE SCRIPT TO FOLLOW SHOWS: PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA (OCTOBER 18, 2025) (DORNA – See restrictions before use) AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP SPRINT RACE (SOUNDBITE) (English) AUSTRALIAN GRAND PRIX SPRINT WINNER MARCO BEZZECCHI, SAYING: MOTO 2 QUALIFYING ACTION MOTO 3 QUALIFYING ACTION COMPLETE SHOTLIST TO FOLLOW STORY: Marco Bezzecchi claimed his third sprint victory in four Grand Prix races on Saturday (October 18), as the Aprilia rider overcame a dramatic start to beat Trackhouse's Raul Fernandez at the Australian Grand Prix. The 26-year-old Italian, 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 he kept his composure and overtook Fernandez with four laps remaining in the 13-lap sprint to seal back-to-back sprint wins. 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. 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. 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, with the Italian finishing a lowly 19th. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)

VIDEO SHOWS: HIGHLIGHTS FROM AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP QUALIFYING / SOUNDBITE OF POLESITTER FABIO QUARTARARO RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT SHOWS: PHILLIP ISLAND, AUSTRALIA (OCTOBER 18, 2025) (DORNA – See restrictions before use) AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP QUALIFYING ACTION 1. MONSTER ENERGY YAMAHA MOTOGP’S NUMBER 20 FABIO QUARTARARO REGISTERING FASTEST LAP 2. CROWD CHEERING 3. CLOSE-UP OF QUARTARARO CELEBRATING 4. SLOW-MOTION REPLAY OF QUARTARARO’S RECORD FASTEST LAP 5. QUARTARARO RIDING AWAY 6. QUARTARARO  CELEBRATING WITH TEAM 7. (SOUNDBITE) (ENGLISH) AUSTRALIAN MOTOGP POLESITTER FABIO QUARTARARO, SAYING: "Yeah, really nice. It was a long time since Assen, but today is a really special one because I didn't feel ready to make really a twenty-six four. The goal was to make twenty-six seven. More or less. So I'm super happy and also I think that our pace is not so bad. So focus on the sprint and let's try to make a great, great first lap that will be really important." 8. APRILIA RACING’S MARCO BEZZECCHI PUTTING HELMET ON   9. APRILIA'S NUMBER 72 BEZZECCHI DURING QUALIFYING ACTION 10. APRILIA TEAM CHEERING / BEZZECCHI ON TRACK 11. PRIMA PRAMAC YAMAHA MOTOGP’S  NUMBER 43 JACK MILLER DURING QUALIFYING ACTION 12. TRACKHOUSE MOTOGP TEAM’S NUMBER 25 RAUL FERNANDEZ TRACK ACTION 13. RED BULL KTM FACTORY RACING’S NUMBER  37 PEDRO ACOSTA DURING QUALIFYING   14. ACOSTA GESTURING THUMBS DOWN 15. GRESINI RACING MOTOGP’S NUMBER 73 ALEX MARQUEZ’S CRASH   16. GRESINI RACING MOTOGP’S NUMBER 54 FERMIN ALDEGUER IN ACTION 17. GRESINI TEAM WATCHING ACTION 18.  GRESINI RACING MOTOGP’S NUMBER 54 FERMIN ALDEGUER IN ACTION 19. RED BULL KTM TECH 3’S NUMBER 44 POL ESPARGAR DURING QUALIFYING ACTION STORY: Frenchman Fabio Quartararo said his pole position at the Australian Grand Prix was "really special" after the Yamaha rider shattered the lap record at Phillip Island on Saturday (October 18), narrowly beating Aprilia's Marco Bezzecchi to the top spot. Quartararo clocked a stunning time of one minute and 26.465 seconds, edging Italian Bezzecchi by 0.031 seconds to claim his fifth pole position of the season. The 26-year-old last earned pole at the Dutch Grand Prix in June. "Really nice. It was a long time since Assen!" Quartararo said. "Today is a really special one because I didn't feel ready to make really a 26.4. The goal was to make 26.7. So, I'm super happy. "Also, I think our pace is not so bad. "So, focus on the sprint and let's try to make a great first lap, which will be really important." Bezzecchi, who looked dominant in practice sessions, setting the previous lap record of 1:26.492 at Phillip Island in MotoGP on Friday, said he was satisfied with Saturday's qualifying result. The 26-year-old will face a double long lap penalty in Sunday's race following his collision with MotoGP champion Marc Marquez at the Indonesian Grand Prix. "I'm happy because the target was to reach the first two rows, as always, and we grabbed the first one, so it's even better," Bezzecchi said. "After yesterday, I was confident that I could do a good lap time … The conditions were a bit more tough this morning, but the performance was good. "Now we can focus on the sprint." Home hope Jack Miller of Prima Pramac thrilled Australian fans by becoming the first local rider since Casey Stoner in 2012 to start on the front row at Phillip Island. "The Aussie fans are out here in numbers. It's unreal to see," Miller said. "I'm looking forward to be back on the front row and, honestly, on a bike that we can fight with today and tomorrow. "Let's see what we can get, we'll try and keep our nose clean." Spanish duo Raul Fernandez and Pedro Acosta rounded off the top five. Alex Marquez, second in the riders' championship, secured sixth place, while twice MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia will start in a disappointing 11th position in Saturday's sprint and Sunday's main event. (Production: Bhagya Ayyavoo)

(The article has been published through a syndicated feed. Except for the headline, the content has been published verbatim. Liability lies with original publisher.)