Grand Prix Australia LIVE - Raul Fernandez claims emphatic maiden victory at Phillip Island, Fabio Di Giannantonio second ahead of Marco Bezzecchi

There are smiles all around for Aprilia as they have earned their first double podium since Catalonia 2023, with an emphatic maiden victory from Raul Fernandez.

The Trackhouse rider claimed the win after our polesitter Fabio Quartararo tumbled down the order and the favourite to win, Marco Bezzecchi, took his double long lap penalties.

Fernandez held off an eager Alex Marquez, who settled for fourth place in a weekend that saw Ducati struggle immensely, with Francesco Bagnaia crashing out of the race.

Fabio Di Giannantonio came home in second place for VR46, climbing eight places from his starting position of tenth, securing some much-needed points for the team.

Bezzecchi rounded off the podium with a magnificent finish to a thrilling race, with this finish catapulting him up to third place in the Riders' Standings ahead of Bagnaia, whose unfortunate crash cost him P3.

1. Raul Fernandez

2. Fabio Di Giannantonio

3. Marco Bezzecchi

4. Alex Marquez

5. Pedro Acosta

6. Luca Marini

7. Alex Rins

8. Brad Binder

9. Enea Bastianini

10. Pol Espargaro

11. Fabio Quartararo

12. Miguel Oliveira

13. Ai Ogura

14. Fermin Aldeguer

15. Franco Morbidelli

Raul Fernandez was the unexpected hero on Phillip Island, claiming his first premier class victory in a thrilling race in Australia.

Fernandez relished: "I cannot believe it. So sorry, but I cannot believe it.

"I think after a long time, we found something whole.

"The team always believed in me. They never stopped supporting me. So it is the consequence of hard work.

"So thanks to them, of course, we have a really good pace. I try to manage until the end.

"We know that on this kind of track, you need to manage the tyres very well, and I tried to because at the end we knew that it was very difficult to manage.

"And that is what I did, especially in the last five laps. It was a super long race for me.

"Thanks to my team, thanks to my family, they always support me. So thanks to them."

VR46 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio went from tenth to second place in a brilliant race that saw him challenge the Aprilia riders for the win.

Di Gianntonio said: "This place is amazing.

"It is a part of racing on this fantastic island, so whenever we come here, it is just a magical weekend for showing you the races like this.

"It's even more sweet. You know, it's been a great race, definitely, maybe the biggest bittersweet of my career, because we had the potential.

"We just ruined the opportunity to win with the qualifying.

"But a big part of this race today was amazing, with a lot of great pace.

"I was trying to catch Raul, but he was really far.

"So happy, so happy for me, for the team, we keep going.

"We never give up, even across the season, we always try to keep up."

Marco Bezzecchi came to Australia as the favourite with a Sprint victory yesterday. He launched off the line and snatched the lead from Fabio Quartararo, took two long lap penalties, and still managed to finish in third place today.

Bezzecchi said: "Yeah, it was a super tough race, because, of course.

"With the penalty, everything was more complicated, but my strategy worked perfectly, because I wanted to make the perfect start and try to push at the beginning.

"I had a bit of a gap when I took the penalty, so I'm super happy.

"I did not imagine a podium with the penalty. So very happy.

"I'm super grateful to my team, to the factory, also the Rider Academy, Vale and all the staff, because they are always close to me.

"And now it's time to recover a bit physically for Malaysia."

TNT Sports and discovery+ will show every practice session, every qualifying session and every Sprint Race and main Race of the MotoGP season.

The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination.

As part of TNT Sports’ comprehensive coverage of MotoGP, it will continue to offer best-in-class analysis and reporting via its digital platform TNTSports.co.uk and content via its social platforms right throughout the season.

Starting from the 2025 season, there will be a new show on Friday evenings called The Inside Line, which will be a half-hour round-up of all the news, action and analysis from the first day of the MotoGP weekend.

Make sure to check out tntsports.co.uk for all the latest developments from the WSBK season finale, adding to motorsport's hectic schedule this weekend.

The 24-year-old Trackhouse rider has secured an emphatic victory around the Phillip Island Circuit, earning his maiden win in the premier class.

He has waited since 2022 for his first win in MotoGP, having joined the premier class with KTM before switching to Aprilia in 2023.

Aprilia will be keen to celebrate this evening as Marco Bezzecchi joins Fernandez on the podium after serving two long lap penalties.

It has been a brilliant race for Trackhouse Racing, with Raul Fernandez earning his first victory in the premier class at the age of 24.

The young rider held off the advances of Pedro Acosta, Alex Marquez, and Fabio Di Gianantonio and secured his maiden win at the iconic circuit.

Marquez struggled in the closing stages of the race, losing third place to Marco Bezzecchi on Lap 25 with his tyres practically melting off.

Bezzecchi managed to claim a podium finish despite taking two long lap penalties during the race. Di Gi joins the Aprilia rider on the podium in second place.

On a Sunday where we thought Marco Bezzecchi would win with ease, we may get a maiden podium from Raul Fernandez, who holds a 2.9s lead over Alex Marquez running in second place.

Although Marquez took second place from Pedro Acosta in dramatic fashion, he was not able to close the gap to the race leader.

Behind, Bezzecchi has just stolen fourth place from Acosta with a swift overtake around the outside of the KTM rider. This could be his only chance to make up places and stand on the podium, but Fabio Di Giannantonio is as strong as ever.

Di Gi abruptly snatched second place from Marquez, with blistering pace and in much better form than the Gresini rider. Marquez's tyres look to be in far worse condition than the VR46 rider's, and Acosta seems to be having the same issue.

Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of the race on Lap 24, skidding into the gravel in Sector 2.

Can Fernandez hold onto the lead?

After tailing Pedro Acosta for five laps, Alex Marquez snatched second place from the KTM rider at Turn 3 on Lap 16. He pulled off a risky move at a corner that rarely sees any overtakes, and set his sights on Raul Fernandez in the lead.

Things are looking much better for Ducati with Marquez in second place. Since Marc Marquez's crash in Indonesia, Ducati's front-row streak came to an end last weekend and Alex Marquez does not intend to break the points-scoring streak either.

Despite a blisteringly quick start to the race, Pedro Acosta looks to be under pressure from Fabio Di Giannantonio, who is practically hugging the KTM. Di Gi sits just 0.1s behind, tailing Acosta through Lap 19.

The VR46 rider made a swift move on Acosta, briefly gaining the position before Acosta fought back and snatched back his third place. However, Di Gi knew what was coming and pulled off another switch at the end of the lap. He stuck the move into Lap 20.

Fermin Aldeguer has pulled off a brilliant pass on Fabio Quartararo, jumping him on the opening straight as the polesitter continues to drop down the order. Aldeguer has so far had a fantastic rookie season, claiming his first victory at the Indonesian Grand Prix.

Raul Fernandez still holds the lead at the front of the pack, with a gap that has grown to almost two seconds. Pedro Acosta looks incredibly strong, however, and may apply pressure in the closing stages of the race.

Alex Marquez has done well to hold onto third on Lap 15, but Fabio Di Giannantonio is on his rear looking for a way onto the podium. Di Gi's teammate, Franco Morbidelli, is down in 14th place after a poor qualifying session. He currently fights with the polesitter who has fallen to 12th place after a slow start and an even worse first half to the race.

Raul Fernandez is doing well to hold off the advances of Pedro Acosta, with the Trackhouse rider holding a 1.4s lead to Acosta on Lap 9.

Alex Marquez has managed to climb up to third place after overtaking Fabio Di Giannantonio and Fabio Quartararo. But it looks like it's just not the day for our polesitter, with Quartararo sitting in fifth place.

So far there have been three retirements from the race, with Johann Zarco running over some dirt on the track and skidding off. It was also an early end for Jack Miller and Joan Mir, with both riders crashing out of the race in separate incidents.

Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia is riding in 13th place, fighting with Enea Bastianini for the position. Bagnaia occupies third place in the Riders' Standings, but Marco Bezzecchi is only 20 points behind and could overtake him if he claims the win today.

Having already taken one of his long lap penalties, Marco Bezzecchi must take another one as he was slapped with a double penalty this weekend. He currently sits in third place ahead of Fabio Quartararo.

Alex Marquez, who has been in top form this season, appears to be struggling in fifth place in a weekend that has not seen Ducati on the front row or on the podium. This could be the first time that there are no Ducati bikes on a race podium this season.

Bezzecchi took his second penalty on Lap 8, dropping down to sixth place. He is now sandwiched between Fabio Di Giannantonio and Pol Espargaro, but the Aprilia rider looked eager to climb back up the field.

Marco Bezzecchi must take a long lap penalty today for exceeding track limits three times. He has enough of a lead to take the penalty on Lap 5 and stay within the podium positions, currently sitting 1.5s ahead of Raul Fernandez.

Pedro Acosta looks for another victory to add to his record book, enjoying his sophomore season in MotoGP. Acosta has been trailing behind the Trackhouse rider throughout the lap, and looked for a way around, but it was Fernandez who gained the lead when Bezzecchi took his penalty.

Bez ended up losing 1.7s during his long lap penalty, dropping him to third place. This puts him under severe pressure from the polesitter Fabio Quartararo, who was desperate to convert his pole to a win.

Our polesitter Fabio Quartararo had a decent start to the race but Marco Bezzecchi had a better one. He launched off the line to snatch the lead before the first corner, allowing both Raul Fernandez and Pedro Acosta to jump Quartararo for second and third place.

Brad Binder had a magnificent start to the race, gaining six positions in the opening two laps. It is a struggle so far for Ducati with Alex Marquez currently in sixth.

The riders have set off on the warm-up lap around the Phillip Island circuit, with wind at ease for what should be a fairly relaxed race!

Qualifying positions for the Grand Prix were shuffled after a handful of riders were hit with penalties throughout the weekend, including Francesco Bagnaia and Brad Binder. Fabio Quartararo did, however, make a clean escape and pipped Marco Bezzecchi to pole.

The starting grid is as follows:

1. Fabio Quartararo

2. Marco Bezzecchi

3. Jack Miller

4. Raul Fernandez

5. Pedro Acosta

6. Alex Marquez

7. Fermin Aldeguer

8. Pol Espargaro

9. Luca Marini

10. Fabio Di Giannantonio

Marco Bezzecchi sealed back-to-back Sprint wins with an exciting victory at the Phillip Island circuit, overcoming the pursuits of Raul Fernandez and the pigeon stuck in his bike.

Fernandez came home in second place, securing another podium finish on Saturday, sharing the podium with fellow Spaniard Pedro Acosta.

The fight for third went down to the final corner to the delight of the home crowd, with Jack Miller, Fabio Di Giannantonio and Alex Marquez falling behind Acosta.

Bezzecchi said: "But it was a fantastic job, I am very happy to win today. This is for my team, my guys and all my fans!"

Good morning and welcome to our LIVE text coverage of the Grand Prix Australia. For our UK viewers, it’s pitch black outside with a cold breeze and for our Australian fans, it’s a jolly good afternoon for some racing.

The Phillip Island circuit has been a motorcycling hotspot since the 1930s and became a MotoGP staple in the late 1990s. The 4.45km track has 12 corners, boasting a 900m long straight and a mixture of fast turns, tight hairpins, and different elevation levels.

Today’s race was delayed by an hour due to weather conditions, with high winds forecast for Sunday morning on Phillip Island. Nonetheless, the riders are set and ready to go for a thrilling race in the closing stages of the season.

Don’t forget: TNT Sports brings you LIVE coverage of the Australian GP, WorldSBK finale and the BSB showdown all in one place this weekend!