Pakistan, Oct. 18 -- 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 r...