The 40 year-old, 50 foot IOR Doug Peterson design was competing in her first
Australian race and after missing the Rolex Sydney Hobart due to damage on the delivery to the start line.
Hamilton hoped the
Australian race would be his launch pad as championship favourite but he was told by his Mercedes team to switch off the engine on the first lap.
Marquez, who leads Lorenzo by 43 points and can wrap up the world title in his rookie season in Sunday's
Australian race, had twice gone under Stoner's lap record before he was trumped late in the session by Lorenzo.
Last month, it was reported that
Australian race organisers had confirmed that they had lost their regular status as the first race, and that Bahrain would instead stage the curtain-raiser for next year on March 2.
Dermot Weld is also planning a return trip with Profound Beauty after her fifth-placed finish in the big
Australian race.
Corporate guests and visitors will have the opportunity to watch the action throughout the
Australian race weekend from the finest settings complete with hospitality and added benefits including the opportunity to network with other corporate guests.
The triple Olympic medallist, who is using the six-stage south
Australian race to warm up for the Euro-pean season, finished the 144 kilometres from Glenelg to Victor Harbor 30 seconds behind new race leader Spain's Luis Sanchez.
This conference commemorates the twentieth anniversary of a national conference, Land Rights and the Future of
Australian Race Relations, organised by the James Cook University Students Union and the Townsville Treaty Committee in Townsville on 28n30 August 1981, out of which the Mabo case evolved.
This will be their first
Australian race experience.
Bathurst is a famous
Australian race that's held every year on the Mount Panorama street circuit outside Sydney.