Free Practice 1 at the Australian Grand Prix was cancelled on Friday as the expected heavy rain hit the Phillip Island circuit.
Race direction gave the 45-minute session every chance to go ahead, delaying the opening of pit lane multiple times in the hope that the rain would ease enough for the resurfaced track to dry.
Things briefly looked positive when, an hour and 40 minutes past the planned start time, the pits were finally scheduled to open.
However, amid what looked like general reluctance from most of teams and riders, the idea was quickly dropped. Shortly thereafter, the session was finally abandoned.
“We have some aquaplaning and it’s better to wait until the rain stops,” reported multiple MotoGP race winner Loris Capirossi, who did several track inspections in the BMW safety car.
The cancellation of FP1 is likely to have consequences and could lead to some rescheduling of the programme.
The FP2 session on Saturday morning will now run for 40 minutes, as opposed to 30, as part of the updated schedule.
The soft rear tyre Michelin has brought to this track, which not only has a new surface but places unique demands on rubber, cannot safely go into a full race without any dry track time.
One year ago, adverse weather conditions forced flexibility on the part of the Australian GP organisers. With a better forecast for Saturday than Sunday, the Grand Prix was brought forward to Saturday.
While the grand prix went ahead and was won by Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco, the sprint – switched to Sunday in place of the grand prix – ultimately fell victim to the expected conditions and was called off.
This year’s rain came as no surprise given the forecast as it was earlier in the week. While torrential rain predictions did not materialise on the Japanese Grand Prix weekend two weeks ago, the forecast for Phillip Island has proven accurate thus far.
Although the high winds set to hit the island on the practice days stayed away on Saturday morning, they began to pick up following the cancellation of FP1.
Home rider Jack Miller will be among those riders pleased to see the rain. One of several riders eyeing the opportunity this outlier weekend may bring, the KTM man said on Thursday that minimal dry running will play into his hands.
Capirossi’s safety car outings this morning were notable for some lurid slides as well as some good humoured ‘penalties’ shown to him on a pit board by the bored Fabio di Giannantonio and Andrea Migno of VR46, complete with Rossi’s #65.
