In Phillip Island, AXO rider Julian Simon in Moto2 had the same problems as his AXO companion Bradley Smith in 125cc on raceday at the Australian Grand Prix, with strong winds and cold temperatures making things tricky. 

Simon and his mechanics had a tough morning, beginning from the moment, seven minutes before the end of the warm-up, when the rider crashed in a big high-side. He was thankfully uninjured, although his bike needed to be quickly repaired for the race. A cautious start was followed by his engaging in a battle with Stefan Bradl and teammate Mike di Meglio, eventually concluding with the Spaniard in fourth. At the end of the long three overseas races, Simon still holds second in the world championship.

Julian Simon: "I was cautious at the start, because I fell in the morning and didn't want to do it again. I took off slowly and had to come back through the field, not really knowing where to spot in and how to overtake those in front of me. Fortunately I was able to finish the race just behind Iannone, so he didn't take too many points off me. We have the chance to take the runner-up spot in the championship and I'm going to fight to the end. I want to give special thanks to my team today. The mechanics rebuilt the bike perfectly following the crash this morning. Now we go to Estoril, a circuit that I like a lot. Both there and in Valencia we have the chance to get good results."

In 125cc, Bradley Smith took a brilliant start and led the race for the opening corners, storming out of the blocks from sixth on the grid. Unfortunately Marquez, Espargaro and Terol got past him, however, and the Briton was left in a battle with Vazquez and Rabat for fourth place. He slipstreamed the former to apparently take fourth, but a photo finish eventually awarded him fifth.

Bradley Smith: "At the start I attacked hard, as I wanted to keep the leaders together. However, I wasn't able to follow Nico, Marquez and Espargaro. They had a higher top speed than me. Then I found myself in a race-long battle with Rabat and Vázquez. It was hard to find a way to beat them, because they have totally different styles and we got in each other's way. I think that the fight broke down my pace considerably. Today the feeling on the bike was very good. Even though the result isn't the best, I am happy with our race. It was a pity that Vazquez pipped me to the line. Now we will rest up for a week before working towards a podium at Estoril and Valencia."