UPDATE 1-Motorcycling-Bezzecchi fights off Fernandez challenge to win Australian GP sprint

* Bezzecchi wins Australian GP sprint, overcoming seagull incident * Fernandez secures second after leading most of the sprint * Australian Miller misses podium, Acosta claims third * Pole-sitter Quartararo finishes seventh, Bagnaia struggles (Adds details, quotes in paragraphs 3-6, 8-10, 12, bullets) PHILLIP ISLAND, Australia, Oct 18 (Reuters) – 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, I just tried to survive because on this kind of track, you need to keep the rear tyre. "But anyway, I'm really happy, thanks to my team and my family. I think this is very important to a lot of us, and let's try to keep it this way, as also in Mandalika, we got some good results, so let's try to enjoy the moment." Home favourite Jack Miller of Prima Pramac, the first Australian rider since Casey Stoner in 2012 to start on the front row at Phillip Island, missed out on a podium finish, as KTM's Pedro Acosta overtook him to claim third place. VR46 Racing's Fabio Di Giannantonio secured fifth place, while Alex Marquez, second in the riders' championship, finished sixth. Quartararo's hopes of converting his record-breaking lap in qualifying into a strong sprint performance fell short, as the Frenchman finished in seventh place. Meanwhile, twice MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia's season woes continued, as the Italian finished a lowly 19th. (Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Stephen Coates and William Mallard)

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