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Johann Zarco topped a wet and tricky Warm Up session ahead of the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, while front-row starting Marc Marquez had a hairy moment at the Southern Loop.
The Prima Pramac Racing rider’s early time of 1.36.804 was well outside of the dry-weather Qualifying pace at Phillip Island but couldn’t be bettered in the 20-minute session.
The track was quit damp as the session went green and a number of riders were able to head out on slicks but conditions quickly deteriorated and the field were forced onto the grooved Michelin tyre.
Marquez had a spill at the Southern Loop with just two minutes to go in the session, losing the bike while on an exploratory lap.
He was thrown from the Honda but was seemingly okay.
The heavy rain had set in at about the five-minute mark, leaving Zarco as the only rider to set a lap time in the 1.36s.
Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) was able to put in a 1.38.231s to be second on the sheet, followed by Fabio Quartararo’s 1.39.204.
Quartararo had his own moment in the closing part of the session, running off the track and through the mud at Doohan corner.
The wet track cost teams the chance to collect data to inform their tyre decisions for this afternoon’s 27-lap race, should the clouds clear.
The heavy downpour was well over by the end of the session, though there wasn’t enough sun or time for a dry line to appear before the chequered flag.
Race start for MotoGP at Phillip Island is 14:00 local time/AEDT.
