It’s not just the penguins on parade! Marc Marquez, Acosta, Wayne Gardner, Kelso and the AGPC CEO welcome fans to the Island in style
Wednesday, 18 October 2023
Before action gets underway on track, Phillip Island hosted a very special pre-event ride-in and Q&A on Wednesday. Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) headlined the event, with Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Ajo), MotoGP™ Legend Wayne Gardner, home hero Joel Kelso (CFMOTO Racing PrüstelGP) and CEO of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation, Travis Auld, all gathering to welcome fans to the Island.
The event began with a Q&A in San Remo, with the riders all taking to the stage to talk to the fans gathered to get a glimpse of legends past and future! Then it was time to saddle up for most, and Marquez led an awesome convoy of bikes across the Island from the bridge to the Grand Prix circuit, culminating in an unforgettable lap and photo opportunity as Acosta re-joined the fold.
The more than 400 very happy bikers will now be back for more this weekend at the MotoGP™ Guru by Gryfyn Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, and the laps will likely be a little hotter than the stately parade speed. Tune in for the Tissot Sprint at 15:00 (GMT +11) local time on Saturday UK TIME 05:00 before the GP race kicks off at 14:00 UK TIME 04:00 on Sunday!
MARC MARQUEZ: “Super nice! Amazing weather and it was incredible to see all the bikes behind us and do a slow lap of the circuit but with all the fans. It’s important because we have a lot of races in Europe, and Australia can seem far, but we spent a nice hour with all the motorcycle fans here.
“We’re coming here from a tougher weekend at Mandalika where I wasn’t able to manage the situation well, especially on Sunday, but we learned from it and we’ll try to repeat the confidence. It’s a circuit I like but we need to be calm.”
Official MotoGP Press Release
