Moto2 arrives in Australia with 1.5 points between the title rivals and three races left of the 2022 season.

Despite torrential conditions that seemed tailor made for either Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Augusto Fernandez or Idemitsu Honda Team Asia’s Ai Ogura to blink first in the brutally close 2022 Moto2 Championship fight, both remained poised and pretty fast at Buriram – and they finished right next to each other once again. With half points awarded, it’s now just 1.5 splitting the two with three rounds remaining, and it’s quite literally never been closer at this stage of the season.

Now, it’s time for Phillip Island. Experience could be key for many as the paddock returns to the track for the first time since 2019, but Fernandez and Ogura will likely remain pretty closely matched. That said, it is Fernandez who’s got the lap count Down Under, and in Moto2…

1.5 isn’t much to separate two riders as the Moto2 field prepare to fight it out for the final 75, so tune in for the first showdown of the deciders as the intermediate class take on the stunning Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit at 12:20 local time (02:20BST).