MotoGP riders ready to take on iconic Phillip Island

Bengaluru, October 24: As the stage is set for the Australian Grand Prix in one of the most beautiful racetracks of the world at the Phillip Island, it was time to hear a little from the MotoGP riders in the pre-event Press Conference.

MotoGP world champion world champion Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team) was joined on the dias by Andrea Dovizioso (Ducati Team), Rookie of the Year Fabio Quartararo (Petronas Yamaha SRT), home hero Jack Miller (Pramac Racing), returning Johann Zarco (LCR Honda Idemitsu), newly-announced 2020 MotoGP rider Iker Lecuona and Valentino Rossi (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who makes an incredible 400th Grand Prix start this weekend.

Tune in for another awesome MotoGP race on Sunday at 3pm local time (9.30am IST).

Marquez who spoke first said Phillip Island was all about feel. "We are coming from another great weekend in Japan a week ago and the target here on Sunday is to fight for victory. It's a circuit you need to feel, you need to feel that you can because it has a lot of high speed corners, this means a lot of risk. It's a circuit that if you don't feel, you need to stay calm, try to finish on the podium or try to finish the race.

High speed corners

"Apart from that, we have a summer day, tomorrow we might have a winter's day - you never know. This is where we will try to work in a good way to try and fight against Yamaha and Suzuki.

"I think they've a bike that works very well here, very stable in the high speed corners. It'll be tough to beat them but we'll try," the Spaniard added.

Milestone man

Rossi, on the other side of the spectrum of experience, spoke next. 400 is quite a milestone, and 'The Doctor' thinks the place is a good one to play host.

"It's a long, long time; a long road. It's good to hit the 400 here in Phillip Island. It's an iconic place for MotoGP, all the riders love the circuit because it's something special compared to the rest. So it's one of the best places. We pray, everybody prays for a weekend here like this, the blue sky and the fantastic weather, but unfortunately the good weather arrived too much in anticipation so we'll have to fight the weather in Phillip Island but anyway, it's a pleasure."

Comeback man

The Grand Prix weekend also sees a familiar face making a return: Zarco. The Frenchman makes the first of his three appearances replacing Takaaki Nakagami at the Island.

"The smile is there! It's difficult to set a target. I want to clear all the feelings I got this year. I started well in MotoGP the first two years, but this year has been really complicated, so it seemed it was finished - my MotoGP story - but Lucio called me to take these three races, and yes I'm taking it because maybe it's my last three races. I took a big risk this summer stopping my contract for 2020, and now I can realise that racing is what I want to do. I've a short future at the moment but I can live it with a lot of intensity and that's what I wanted to do."

Independent riders

Quartararo, meanwhile, arrives having already been crowned Rookie of the Year, and he's now gunning for the honour of top Independent - against Jack Miller.

"I think the Yamaha suits this track really well but we will see about the conditions. It's a track that I really like, fast corners, the Yamaha looks good, so we'll do our best and our best will be good enough."

(By a special arrangement with Dorna Sports)