Sawt Falasteen - Alex Marquez looks to fill void left by injured brother in Australia

Prime among those absent this weekend is Marquez's older brother Marc, the 2024 winner at Phillip Island and newly crowned world champion.

He underwent shoulder surgery after a frightening crash at a chaotic Indonesia grand prix a fortnight ago won by Spanish rookie Fermin Aldeguer, with Ducati test rider Michele Pirro replacing him.

Last year's Australian polesitter Jorge Martin (collar bone) and Maverick Vinales (shoulder) are also sidelined, meaning none of the front row from 12 months ago will take part.

That opens the door wider for Spain's Alex Marquez to build on his 88-point lead over Francesco Bagnaia in the battle to be runner-up.

With four rounds left, the Gresini Racing star can clinch second place in the standings if he ends the weekend 111 points clear of his Italian Ducati rival.

"We've achieved the goal of clinching the Best Independent Rider title," said Marquez, who secured the accolade in Indonesia. "And we now aim at the runner-up spot in the world championship."

Anything can happen at the waterfront Phillip Island circuit, where riders are at the whim of often unpredictable weather, and sometimes wildlife, on a demanding track.

Wind and bouts of rain are again forecast.

Bagnaia has always done well in the conditions, with three podiums in succession, and looked to be back to his best in Japan three weeks ago when he won both the sprint and grand prix after a frustrating campaign.

But he had a horror show a week later at Mandalika in Indonesia, qualifying 16th and running at the back in both races.

"In recent years I've always been fast and consistent here, even though without victory," he said of Phillip Island.

"We're coming into this race after a complicated weekend. We're working hard to understand exactly what happened at Mandalika.

"The goal is to get back to the same feeling we had on the track at Motegi."

Martin's Aprilia teammate Marco Bezzecchi still has a slim chance of earning the runner-up spot, but he needs Marquez to implode.

Bezzecchi was in imperious form in Indonesia, claiming pole and taking out the sprint honours before slamming into the rear of Marc Marquez on the opening lap of the grand prix.

While Marquez needed surgery Bezzecchi was cleared of serious injury after a hospital check, but he has been slapped with a double long lap penalty for this weekend.

"The fight for third in the championship is still wide open and I know that if I can shake off these knocks, I'll be really competitive again," he said.

"And for sure, the fire to bounce back -- learning from this episode (Marquez crash) and growing from it is 100 percent there."

F.Qawasmeh--SF-PST