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Marco Bezzecchi demolished the Australian MotoGP lap record in setting the standard during second practice on Friday, becoming the first rider ever to dip below 1:27 at Phillip Island.The Italian, who won the Indonesia sprint race a fortnight ago before slamming into world champion Marc Marquez during the grand prix, blazed round the waterfront circuit in 1:26.580 on his Aprilia.His time shattered the previous best of 1:27.246 set by Jorge Martin in 2023. Not content with that, he then bettered it with a sizzling 1:26.492.It left Bezzecchi 0.291sec clear of Raul Fernandez, also on an Aprilia, with Ducati-VR4 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio third and Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo fourth."An unbelievable lap, he hit the record two times, which means he has confidence with the bike," Aprilia team boss Paolo Bonora said of Bezzecchi."To be honest, our bike was good for the past year, but we didn't achieve many results."Ducati-Gresini's Alex Marquez came fifth, 0.453sec adrift, as he looks to seal the world championship runner-up spot behind brother Marc.Spain's Marquez has an 88-point lead over two-time world champion Francesco Bagnaia in the battle to clinch second in the standings with four rounds left of the 22-stop season.He can do so by finishing the weekend 111 points clear of his Italian Ducati rival, who failed to score a point in Indonesia just a week after winning the Japan MotoGP and sprint races.Bagnaia complained about his bike shaking in the opening session on Friday and again struggled early for pace. But he switched to the spare and steered it to ninth place.The top 10 times from second practice automatically qualified for Q2 on Saturday, and will be joined by the fastest two riders from Q1 to determine the first five rows of the grid both for the sprint race and Sunday's main event.Among those relegated to Q1 were Fermin Aldeguer, who won in Indonesia, and home hero Jack Miller, who topped the opening practice session.Marc Marquez, last year's Phillip Island winner, is not in Australia following shoulder surgery after being rammed by Bezzecchi in Indonesia.Bezzecchi must serve a double long lap penalty on Sunday for causing the incident, but is free to race as usual in Saturday's sprint showdown.He was quick all afternoon, owning the fastest lap of 1:27.516 for almost 15 minutes before Di Giannantonio went a fraction quicker.Teams tried a variety of tyre strategies in a bid to collect data in case of bad weather, and Bezzecchi on a hard front and soft rear then stunned the field with the new lap record.

Ducati’s MotoGP champion Marc Marquez suffered a collarbone injury as a result of a collision with Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi on the opening lap of the Indonesian Grand Prix Sunday, his team said.Bezzecchi collided with the rear of Marquez’s Ducati and the pair both hurtled into the gravel at high speed, with Marquez appearing to be in significant discomfort after tumbling head over heels.The Spaniard, who won his seventh MotoGP championship at last week’s Japanese Grand Prix, was hunched over on the side of the track for a couple of minutes before staggering to his feet and lurching away while clutching his shoulder.EVIDENCE OF FRACTUREMarquez was later seen with his arm in a sling, with members of Ducati team saying on the race’s broadcast that there was evidence of a fracture after initial scans.“As a result of today’s crash at Indonesian GP, Marc Marquez has suffered an injury to his right collarbone,” Ducati said in a statement on social media.“The Spanish rider will travel tonight to Madrid (Spain) for further medical tests and to decide on the treatment to follow.”The injury was on the shoulder of the arm Marquez fractured in the 2020 July season-opening Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez, which ruled him out for an extended period and required several surgeries.“Not the best way to celebrate the championship,” Marquez told reporters after the race.“In the end, Marco Bezzecchi already came to me and said sorry. This happens. It’s something that sometimes I will do, sometimes somebody else will do, but it was not on purpose. So, Marco accepts it was his fault.“We will fly to Madrid and try to understand with the doctors exactly what is wrong and try to come back as soon as possible.”BEZZECCHI ESCAPES MAJOR INJURYAprilia said Bezzecchi was taken to hospital to undergo a more comprehensive examination following the crash where he was given the all-clear.“After the medical examinations, no fractures have been found for Marco Bezzecchi,” Aprilia said in a statement.Marquez’s Ducati team-mate Francesco Bagnaia, Joan Mir (Honda HRC) and Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) also crashed out of Sunday’s race, won by Gresini Racing rookie Fermin Aldeguer.Ducati-Gresini rider Aldeguer pulled away and cruised to a maiden victory.Aldeguer finished more than six seconds ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta in second and nearly eight seconds in front of teammate Alex Marquez in third.“I don’t believe it. I am super happy. To be a rookie, we are doing incredible work. We have to continue like this,” said Aldeguer, 20, who secured his first MotoGP win Sunday.While Marquez can afford to miss the last four rounds of the season having already sealed the title, Bezzecchi still has the opportunity to finish third overall ahead of Francesco Bagnaia and possibly fight with Alex Marquez for second.Alex sits on 362 points while Bagnaia (274) is third, just 20 points ahead of Bezzecchi in the standings.The next race is the Australian Grand Prix in two weeks.