Bezzecchi fights off Fernandez challenge to win Australian GP sprint

PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia :Marco Bezzecchi claimed his third sprint victory in four Grand Prix races on Saturday, as the Aprilia rider overcame a dramatic start to beat Trackhouse's Raul Fernandez at the Australian Grand Prix.

Bezzecchi, who narrowly missed out on pole position to Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo, hit a seagull as he left the grid for the warm-up lap at Phillip Island. But the 26-year-old Italian kept his composure and overtook Fernandez with three laps remaining in the 13-lap sprint to seal back-to-back sprint wins.

"It was pretty hard because at the beginning. I hit a big bird, unfortunately for him, especially. But also, for me, as I got a scare. But luckily nothing was broken on the bike, and I am very sorry for this, of course," Bezzecchi said.

"When we started the sprint, I had a lot of fun as Raul was impressive at the beginning, he was super quick. I couldn't catch him and once I did, I made a mistake, so I had to put myself through some difficult laps again.

"But it was a fantastic job, I am very happy to win today. This is for my team, my guys and all my fans!"

Bezzecchi, who faces a double long lap penalty in Sunday's race due to his collision with MotoGP champion Marc Marquez at the Indonesian Grand Prix, continued his strong form after a stunning comeback to win the Indonesia sprint earlier this month.

Fernandez, who started fourth on the grid, made a flying start and led for much of the race but ultimately had to settle for second place.

"I was just very relaxed on the bike and just tried not to make any mistakes," the Spaniard said after securing his second successive sprint podium finish.

"I saw that Marco came with a strong pace and I tried my maximum. And when I saw that I wasn't able to follow Marco,