The factory Ducati rider suffered a broken shoulder in an ugly crash during the latest round at Mandalika, which means he will not race at Phillip Island.
In his place is Ducati test rider Michelle Pirro, who will join Francesco Bagnaia on the Desmosedici Red Devils.
It begs the question, who will win in Marquez’s absence?
The form guide suggests Ducati will have the bikes to beat, led by Bagnaia and Marc’s brother Alex.
Alex Marquez’s Gresini teammate Fermin Aldeguer heads to Phillip Island fresh off his first win at Mandalika.
Then there is the factory Aprilia of Marco Bezzecchi, though he’ll have to serve a double long-lap penalty for the crash that took Marc Marquez out a few weeks ago.
Pedro Acosta will lead the way for KTM, and after finishing second to Aldeguer will believe he has enough to be a contender.
2023 race winner Johann Zarco has been a regular top 10 runner all season, and even has a win at Le Mans. He’ll be at long odds, but an interesting rider to follow in any case on the leading Honda, which will have aero upgrades for Phillip Island.
When is MotoGP at Phillip Island?
MotoGP heads to the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit on October 17-19 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 9am AEDT.
MotoGP has two sessions on Friday with Free Practice 1 at 10:45am and Practice to determine who will go through to Q2 at 3pm – each an hour long.
Free Practice 2, a 30-minute session, at 10:10am AEDT sets the stage for Qualifying 1 immediately after at 10:50am AEDT, where the two fastest riders will advance to Qualifying 2.
Qualifying 2 starts at 11:15am AEDT where the fastest 12 riders will duke it out.
The Tisso 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 Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at 2pm, which will take in 27 laps of Phillip Island.
MotoGP Phillip Island Friday schedule (AEDT)
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 9:00 | 9:30 | Moto3 | 30 min | Free Practice 1 |
| 9:50 | 10:30 | Moto2 | 40 min | Free Practice 1 |
| 10:45 | 11:30 | MotoGP | 45 min | Free Practice 1 |
| 12:15 | 12:35 | Superbike Masters | 20 mins | Pratice |
| 13:15 | 13:50 | Moto3 | 45 mins | Practice |
| 14:05 | 14:45 | Moto2 | 40 mins | Practice |
| 15:00 | 16:00 | MotoGP | 60 mins | Practice |
| 16:20 | 16:40 | Superbike Masters | 20 minus | Qualifying |
MotoGP Phillip Island Saturday schedule (AEDT)
| 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 |
| 12:10 | 12:30 | Superbike Masters | 6 laps | Race 1 |
| 12:45 | 13:00 | Moto3 | 15 min | Qualifying 1 |
| 13:10 | 13:25 | Moto3 | 15 min | Qualifying 2 |
| 13:40 | 13:55 | Moto2 | 15 min | Qualifying 1 |
| 14:05 | 14:20 | Moto2 | 15 min | Qualifying 2 |
| 15:00 | MotoGP | 13 laps | Tissot Sprint | |
| 16:10 | 14:30 | Superbike Masters | 6 laps | Race 2 |
MotoGP Phillip Island Sunday schedule (AEDT)
| Start | Finish | Category | Duration | Session |
| 9:00 | 9:20 | Superbikes Masters | 6 laps | Race 3 |
| 9:40 | 9:50 | MotoGP | 10 min | Warm Up |
| 10:15 | 10:25 | Honda Junior GP | 10 min | |
| 11:00 | Moto3 | 21 laps | Race | |
| 12:15 | Moto2 | 23 laps | Race | |
| 14:00 | MotoGP | 27 laps | Race |
How to watch MotoGP Phillip Island
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 at 10:30am 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.
Fox Sports’ coverage begins on Friday at 8:55am AEDT. Saturday’s coverage begins at 8:35am AEDT while Sunday’s coverage begins at 9:30am AEDT.
Can I live stream the MotoGP Phillip Island?
Ad-free coverage is live on Kayo Sports while 10 will have free-to-air coverage live streamed via 10 play.
MotoGP Phillip Island broadcast start times (AEDT)
Friday, October 10
Foxtel/Kayo – 8:55am
Network 10 – No coverage
Saturday, October 11
Foxtel/Kayo – 8:35am
Network 10 – 1:30pm
Sunday, October 12
Foxtel/Kayo – 9:30am
Network 10 – 10:30am
MotoGP Phillip Island weather forecast (via Bureau of Meteorology)’
Phillip Island is renowned for its wild weather, but it looks like the 2025 edition will be mostly dry. There is the chance of a shower or two during Friday’s practice and Sunday’s grand prix. Northerly winds are expected to be between 35 km/h and 50 km/h on Sunday.
Friday (October 17) – Shower or two, 16 degrees, 60 percent chance of rain (0-2mm)
Saturday (October 18) – Partly Cloudy, 16 degrees, 30 percent chance of rain (0-1mm)
Sunday (October 19) – Shower or two, windy, 24 degrees, 50 percent chance of rain (0-1mm)
Who are the Australians competing at MotoGP Phillip Island?
Jack Miller will fly the flag for Australia in MotoGP for Yamaha satellite team Pramac.
In Moto2, Senna Agius will likely be Australia’s best bet for a win out of the Liqui Moly Dynavolt Intact GP squad. Harrison Voight will make his Moto2 return with the MSi Racing Team.
In Moto3, Joel Kelso continues his quest for a maiden win with LevelUp MTA while Jacob Roulstone rides with Red Bull KTM Tech3.
Are there any New Zealanders racing at MotoGP Phillip Island?
New Zealand has one rider in Moto3. Cormac Buchanan, who hails from Invercargill, will continue his season with Denssi Racing Boé.
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