The title battle is being waged between Jorge Martin of Pramac and factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia.
The duo have been inseparable on the Desmosedici with only Enea Bastianini within earshot of the pair.
Gresini’s Marc Marquez has all but conceded his title aspirations, with braggins rights on the line for the remaining four grands prix.
Ducati has been the dominant force in 2024 but KTM has started to make some headway as the season draws to a close.
Jack Miller is by no means the leading KTM rider but will no doubt be spurred on by his home crowd.
Fellow KTM rider Pedro Acosta is knocking on the door of his first premier class win for Tech3 while factory RC16 rider Brad Binder is there or thereabouts.
When is MotoGP at Phillip Island?
MotoGP heads to the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on October 18-20 where it will headline a bumper schedule featuring Moto2, Moto3, and the Oceania Talent Cup.
Track action begins on Friday with Moto3 first up at 8:45am AEDT.
MotoGP has two sessions on Friday with Free Practice 1 at 10:45am and Practice 1 at 3pm.
Free Practice 2 at 10:10am AEDT sets the stage for Qualifying 1 immediately after at 10:50am AEDT. Qualifying 2 starts at 11:15am AEDT.
The sprint is scheduled for 3pm and will take in 13 laps of Phillip Island.
MotoGP will have its customary warm-up at 9:40am before the grand prix at 2pm.
MotoGP Phillip Island Friday schedule
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 9:00 | 9:30 | Moto3 | 30 min | Free Practice |
| 9:50 | 10:30 | Moto2 | 40 min | Free Practice |
| 10:45 | 11:30 | MotoGP | 45 min | Free Practice 1 |
| 11:45 | 12:05 | Oceania Junior Cup | 20 min | Free Practice |
| 12:15 | 12:35 | Hot Wheels | 20 mins | Track Entertainment |
| 13:15 | 13:50 | Moto3 | 45 mins | Free Practice 1 |
| 14:05 | 14:45 | Moto2 | 40 mins | Free Practice 1 |
| 15:00 | 16:00 | MotoGP | 60 mins | Practice |
MotoGP Phillip Island Saturday schedule
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 8:40 | 9:10 | Moto3 | 30 min | Practice 2 |
| 9:25 | 9:55 | Moto2 | 30 min | Practice 2 |
| 10:10 | 10:40 | MotoGP | 30 min | Free Practice 2 |
| 10:50 | 11:05 | MotoGP | 15 min | Qualifying 1 |
| 11:15 | 11:30 | MotoGP | 15 min | Qualifying 2 |
| 11:40 | 12:05 | Hot Wheels | 25 min | Track Entertainment |
| 12:15 | 12:35 | Oceania Junior Cup | 7 laps | Race 1 |
| 12:50 | 13:05 | Moto3 | 15 min | Qualifying 1 |
| 13:15 | 13:30 | Moto3 | 15 min | Qualifying 2 |
| 13:45 | 14:00 | Moto2 | 15 min | Qualifying 1 |
| 14:10 | 14:25 | Moto2 | 15 min | Qualifying 2 |
| 14:30 | 14:40 | Giacomo Agostini | 10 min | Legend Lap |
| 15:00 | MotoGP | 13 laps | Tissot Sprint | |
| 15:45 | 16:00 | Hot Wheels | 15 min | Track Entertainment |
| 16:15 | 16:35 | Oceania Junior Cup | 7 laps | Race 2 |
MotoGP Phillip Island Sunday schedule
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 9:00 | 9:20 | Oceania Junior Cup | 7 laps | Race 3 |
| 9:40 | 9:50 | MotoGP | 10 min | Warm Up |
| 10:10 | 10:20 | Honda Junior GP | 10 min | |
| 11:00 | Moto3 | 21 laps | Race | |
| 12:15 | Moto2 | 23 laps | Race | |
| 13:15 | 13:30 | Mick Doohan | 15 laps | Legend Lap |
| 13:25 | 13:35 | RAAF Aerial Display | 10 min | |
| 14:00 | MotoGP | 27 laps | Race |
How can I watch the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix
MotoGP will be live and free-to-air on Network 10 across Saturday and Sunday.
Saturday’s coverage is live from 1:30pm AEDT and concludes at 4pm while Sunday’s coverage starts slightly earlier at 1pm before concluding at 3:30pm.
Live, ad-free coverage is exclusive to Foxtel and Kayo with every MotoGP, Moto2, and Moto3 session broadcast across Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Can I live stream the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix?
Ad-free coverage is live on Kayo while 10 will have free-to-air coverage live streamed via 10 play.
Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix weather forecast (via Bureau of Meteorology)
Friday (October 18) – Cloudy, Min 15, Max 23 – 95 percent chance of any rain
Very high chance of showers. The chance of a thunderstorm. Heavy falls possible in the east. Winds north to northeasterly 30 to 45 km/h shifting westerly 25 to 40 km/h in the early afternoon. Overnight temperatures falling to between 14 and 17 with daytime temperatures reaching 20 to 25.
Saturday (October 19) – Cloudy, Min 12, Max 16 – 50 percent chance of any rain
High chance of showers in the east, medium chance elsewhere. Winds west to southwesterly 25 to 35 km/h tending south to southwesterly 15 to 20 km/h during the day. Overnight temperatures falling to between 9 and 12 with daytime temperatures reaching between 16 and 20.
Sunday (October 20) – Cloudy, Min 11, Max 17 – 20 percent chance of any rain
Slight chance of a shower in the morning. Winds southwesterly 15 to 25 km/h turning southerly during the day. Overnight temperatures falling to between 6 and 10 with daytime temperatures reaching between 16 and 20.
Who’s leading the MotoGP riders’ championship?
As it stands, Pramac’s Jorge Martin leads the riders’ championship on 392 points over factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia on 382 points.
Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez are mathematically still in the hunt on 313 and 311 points respectively.
Jack Miller languishes down in 15th for KTM on 66 points.
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