The 2024 MotoGP season returns with its 17th race on the calendar, and given it’s the fourth-last meeting of the year with the World Championship still wide open, things are understandably hotting up as the 27 riders in this year’s competition arrive at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit for the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix.
World Championship front-runners Jorge Martin and defending champion Francesco Bagnaia are still almost neck-and-neck at the top of the standings, with Bagnaia’s victory at the Japanese Grand Prix two weeks ago narrowing the gap between the pair to just 10 points. Martin still leads the way though, and is in pole position to win his first MotoGP world title.
The Australian Grand Prix has been one of the staples on the MotoGP circuit going back decades, first being held at this very circuit in 1989 and almost every year since, barring a two-year hiatus during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021, and a spell at the Eastern Creek Raceway in New South Wales between 1991 and 1996.
Ahead of the 17th race of the 2024 MotoGP season, The Sporting News has you covered with all the timings, TV and streaming details to follow if you want to keep up with all the action from Melbourne as we prepare for the 34th running of the Australian Grand Prix.
MORE: Full MotoGP schedule for the 2024 World Championship season
The Australian Grand Prix is the 17th race of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship season and takes place at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Victoria on Sunday, October 20.
MotoGP fans can follow all the action from the practice sessions, through qualifying into Raceday with a TV subscription to Fox Sports, as well as streaming both live and on catch-up with Foxtel and Foxtel Now.
Free to air coverage of the race is available on Channel 10 and streaming service 10 Play.
Kayo Sports, however, is the best place for Australian MotoGP fans to follow every minute of the action via their streaming service. Every single session from race week in Melbourne is covered with a Kayo subscription, and new users to Kayo can currently sign up to a FREE trial.
The 2024 MotoGP Australian Grand Prix race takes place on Sunday, October 20 and begins at 2:00 p.m. local time (AEDT) from the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Melbourne, Victoria.
A full breakdown of the weekend’s action is available below:
Event | Date | Start Time (AEDT) |
Free Practice 1 | Friday, October 18 | 10:45 a.m. |
Free Practice 2 | Saturday, October 19 | 10:00 a.m. |
Qualifying Session 1 | Saturday, October 19 | 10:50 a.m. |
Qualifying Session 2 | Saturday, October 19 | 11:15 a.m. |
Sprint Race | Saturday, October 19 | 3:00 p.m. |
Grand Prix Race | Sunday, October 20 | 2:00 p.m. |
Here’s how that race start time translates to the various Australian time zones:
Date | Start time | |
Australian Eastern Daylight Time | Sunday, October 20 | 2:00 p.m. |
Australian Central Daylight Time | Sunday, October 20 | 1:30 p.m. |
Australian Western Standard Time | Sunday, October 20 | 11:00 a.m. |
With just three races left on the calendar once the flag is waved at the Phillip Island Circuit, we are well and truly in the business end of the 2024 MotoGP season, with every remaining meeting set to be pivotal for deciding the fate of the World Championship trophy.
Malaysia and the season finale in Valencia are still to come, but first up it’s the PT Grand Prix of Thailand at the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, which is set to take place in little over a week’s time on Sunday, October 27.
The Thailand motorcycle Grand Prix is one of the newer events on the MotoGP circuit, first being held in 2018 and being absent from the calendar in 2020 and 2021. As the fifth edition of this race gets underway, it’s Martin who’ll be hoping he can emulate his victory in 2023, and join fellow spaniard Marc Marquez as the only rider to have won the Thailand MotoGP twice.