More from a press release issued by Aprilia Racing:
Very positive start for Aprilia Racing at Mandalika
Aprilia Racing made a very positive start on the first day of practice at the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit. Marco Bezzecchi confirmed his impressive command of the RS-GP25, delivering a strong Friday: third fastest in FP1 and first in practice, where he was also the first rider to break the 1:30 barrier midway through the session.
Raúl Fernández’s performance for the Trackhouse MotoGP Team was also notable, finishing practice in fifth place, thereby joining Bezzecchi in securing direct access to Q2.
A result that is even more significant considering that, due to injuries, only two riders are on track at Mandalika riding the RS-GP25, and both finished in the top five on Friday.
Marco Bezzecchi: “It was a good day. We made some substantial improvements, especially from morning to afternoon. There are still a few matters to sort out, but overall, I’m quite satisfied. The guys did a great job, as always, and now we focus on continuing the work ahead of Saturday.”
Paolo Bonora – Team Manager: “An excellent start and a very positive Friday, getting off to the right foot already in FP1: Marco was immediately competitive on a track he likes and with a layout that suits Aprilia. We won’t stop here: there are still details to fine-tune, and with Marco’s very clear feedback, we expect to make further progress by Saturday. Confirming the strong connection between bike and rider, Raúl also secured an excellent fifth place.”
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More from a press release issued by BK8 Gresini Team:
Gresini’s the only Ducati machines in Q2.
FERMIN ALDEGUER #54
“Today’s conditions weren’t the best, but we were quick although maybe close to the limit. Bezzecchi was uncatchable, but we did well. The track is difficult to read, there’s a lot of grip, but we didn’t perform as high as we wanted. It is excellent that we made into Q2, it was important to improve our Friday results compared to recent races and we’re managing to do so.”
*Crashed at turn 8 in FP1
ALEX MARQUEZ #73
“Q1 would have been a challenging session. We salvaged our Friday by a small margin, but the lap in which I crash was top 4 worthy. It was a good Friday anyway, especially coming from a weekend like the one we had in Japan. We’ll have to work well with the qualifying tyre tomorrow and stay focused.”
*Crashed at turn 12 during Practice
- Free Practice 1 – IndonesianGP
10th – ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (1’31.487s)
16th – FERMIN ALDEGUER #54 (1’31.810s)
- Practice – IndonesianGP
2nd – FERMIN ALDEGUER #54 (1’29.648s) Q2
10th – ALEX MARQUEZ #73 (1’29.985s) Q2
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More from a press release issued by Honda HRC Castrol :
Marini leads another strong Friday for Honda HRC Castrol.
In what has quickly established itself as the new norm for the factory Honda HRC team, Luca Marini and Joan Mir sailed into the top ten placing fourth and sixth respectively.
As is often the case, conditions in Lombok, Indonesia were brutal as the ambient temperatures pushed into the 30s and the humidity hit 67%. With the wind in their sails still from the Japanese GP podium, Honda HRC Castrol were not deterred and made every lap count around the 4.3 kilometre long Indonesian Circuit. Continuing to build on their work throughout the entirety of the year, the duo once again made sure the RC213V was well represented at the front.
Leading the way in the morning, Luca Marini made his intentions abundantly clear – the Italian on top of the pile by 0.136s. Going a further 1.1 seconds faster in the afternoon, Marini would end the day in fourth overall. His 1’29.730 is already six tenths faster than his Q1 time from the Indonesian GP last year. The form is similar to what Marini had in Motegi and he is looking to learn from that experience and really capitalise on Qualifying. Flowing around a circuit he has always enjoyed, the #10 will be one to keep an eye on tomorrow.
Joan Mir was not to be outdone by his teammate and ended the day in sixth, 0.038s off the time set by Marini. Although not as strong a circuit historically as Motegi for the double World Champion, Mir was able to consistently be competitive here in Mandalika on Friday. This is now the third race in a row both riders have entered Q2 directly from Friday, continuing this performance at every race is now a clear and realistic first goal of the weekend.
Both Marini and Mir have shown some of their best form yet today and the pair have the front row as a clear target. With nine riders in the top ten split by half a second, Saturday’s action will be a close fought affair where even a small gain could pay significant dividends.
Luca Marini – FOURTH 1:29.730 :
“Our feeling and performance is improving with each GP and we are following a clear trajectory. Each time we exit the garage we understand more and push the limit of the bike a little bit further. I know it’s only Friday and we still have a lot of work to do, but we are very satisfied with what we have done today. Tomorrow it will be crucial to find the lap time in Q2 and arrive on the front row of the grid is the target. Tonight we will work to find some more speed with the soft rear because already on race pace I feel comfortable. If we can make this step then I think we can have a really good rest of the weekend.”
Joan Mir – SIXTH 1:29.768 :
“You really had to be focused today, it was so easy to have a crash today and we had to do some work to get the feeling we had. It was a solid day and I was able to be consistently fast, even if it’s not one of my favourite circuits. Some things to check and improve tonight, but being strong at this circuit shows what our level is like. It’s a day of confidence today, it’s another boost for the rest of the season. A good confirmation of last weekend with some more to come.”
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More from a press release issued by Monster Energy Yamaha :
Quartararo & Rins Secure Direct Q2 Places on Indonesia GP Friday.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team began action at the Mandalika International Circuit today. Fabio Quartararo and Álex Rins worked diligently throughout the two sessions to wrap up the Friday in 7th and 8th place respectively in the Practice timesheets, securing places in tomorrow’s Q2.
Quartararo had finished FP1 in seventh place, giving him a confidence boost ahead of the afternoon shoot-out. The Frenchman concentrated on his bike’s set-up in the Practice session before putting in his first bid for a direct place in Q2 with 15 minutes left on the clock. After his first attempts, Fabio held 14th place. His second run was initially disrupted by yellow flags, but he clocked a 1’29.837s on lap 27/27, 0.597s from first, that earned him seventh place in the timesheets.
Rins had a strong start to the Indonesian GP weekend and wrapped up FP1 in an encouraging fourth place. The Spaniard was determined to keep the positive momentum going in the afternoon. He held fifth place in the Practice session until the time attacks started with 16 minutes remaining. It became a fierce battle, but the number 42 kept pushing. With no yellow flags on his final attempt, he set a 1’29.868s best time on lap 28/28. It had him finish the day in eighth place, 0.628s off today’s fastest time.
The Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team will be back in action tomorrow for the Saturday MotoGP sessions: FP2 will be held from 10:10-10:40 GMT+8, followed by the qualifying sessions from 10:50-11:30, and the 13-lap Sprint that starts at 15:00.
MASSIMO MEREGALLI – Team Director, Monster Energy Yamaha 
Fabio Quartararo: “It was not an easy day for us, but I was able to get one hot lap in at the end. Being inside the top 10 today is very important for the rest of the weekend, but we still need to work on the pace. The grip is good, but the rear tyre with this carcass is unpredictable, and this is making riding more tense.”
Alex Rins: “Today was a really good day. I kept the momentum from Japan going. We just kept working, kept doing our best, and today we were really performing well. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have any problems – for sure, there are things we can work on. We are spending a lot of time getting heat into the tyre when we’re on the medium rear. But as soon as we fitted the soft, it went well for us very quickly, so I am happy about today.”
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More from a press release issued by Red Bull KTM Tech3 :
The action of the Grand Prix of Indonesia is well and truly on at dreamy Lombok Island, with Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Enea Bastianini and Maverick Viñales having kicked off their campaign at the Mandalika Circuit, welcoming MotoGP™ for the fourth consecutive year. It wasn’t an easy start for our riders, with both failing to make the cut to Q2 at the end of Friday’s Practice. Bastianini closed the day with the 15th time, while Viñales ended the day in P19, as he continued to fight through the pain from his left shoulder.
Extreme track conditions were an extra factor to consider on Friday, with the humid and hot climate of Lombok island adding more difficulties to the physical exercise of riding the MotoGP™ machine. As he arrived from Motegi with some improvements made during the race, Enea Bastianini was eager to see if he could bring those to Indonesia, so the opening FP1 was dedicated to making some set-up tests. Times were quite close between all riders, and Enea took the 19th time, despite being just 1.3 seconds away from Luca Marini, fastest this morning. Later in the afternoon, Bastianini was back for Practice, but he continued to struggle somehow to find the right feeling with his RC16 on the Indonesian layout. Before the final time attacks, Enea sat in P19 when he picked Johann Zarco’s wheel for the final run. The Italian eventually improved to a 1’30.385 before a few yellow flags were waved with late crashes, but unfortunately, Enea was next to go down at T3, in the final seconds of Practice. P15 for the number 23, as he faces Q1 on Saturday morning.
The opening day in Lombok wasn’t quite easy either for Maverick Viñales, who continued to fight through the pain from his left shoulder. After Japan, the target for our Top Gun was to try getting back to the bike set up he had before his crash in Germany, so the team has worked towards that goal since settling down in Bali’s little sister. In Free Practice 1, the feeling wasn’t too bad for Maverick, as he rounded up the session with the 15th time, just behind teammate Brad Binder, less than one second from Marini. The afternoon’s Practice was tougher for the number 12, who continued to be limited by his shoulder, not recovering as fast as he would like, although it has already been an impressive recovery process so far. A 1’30.529 was the best he could lap this afternoon, as he finished 1.289 seconds from the top of the timesheets. He will face Q1 alongside teammate Bastianini on Saturday morning. The action will resume at 10:10 LT (UTC+8), followed directly by the qualifying sessions. Next, we will have the Tissot Sprint at 15:00, with 13 laps!
Enea Bastianini: “At the start of both sessions today, the first 3-4 laps felt really dangerous because the rear grip was too low, but then the track improved and we could feel a bit better. We have crashed a lot lately, on Fridays, on Saturdays… which is not normal, and it also tells us that we are in a critical situation. I really hope that we can find some improvements, for my future, because we are going through a tough period again, and at the moment, we can’t solve our issues. Let’s check everything with the team tonight, because we need to arrive on Saturday in better shape.”
Maverick Viñales: “Tough day for us, physically. We have a lot to analyze together with the team, and we need to make an important decision. Whether to stop and come back fully fit, or to keep going like this, but riding in my current condition is very hard for me, because I feel a lot of pain, and I can’t give the right feedback. We need to be smart, and evaluate which will be the best way to recover the fastest. This track is quite challenging, and I lose a lot of time in the changes of direction, so we are not at our best. I want to be on the bike, but let’s see our possibilities.”
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More from a press release issued by Prima Pramac Team:
Oliveira Breaks Into Q2 in Indonesia GP, Miller Stuck in Q1 After Tricky Friday.
The opening day of action at the Indonesian GP, the 18th round of the MotoGP World Championship, saw Miguel Oliveira secure direct access to Q2, with the Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP rider setting the 9th fastest time in Practice. A tougher session instead for Jack Miller, who after finishing 16th will have to start tomorrow‘s qualifying from Q1, ahead of the Sprint Race scheduled at 15:00 local time (09:00 CET).
Miguel Oliveira had been chasing a direct Q2 entry for a long time this season, one marked by the injury he suffered at the start of the championship in Argentina that kept him out of several races and disrupted his adaptation to the YZR-M1. Today, on the Mandalika circuit, that moment finally came for the Portuguese rider of Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP, who closed Practice in ninth position. A result that confirms Oliveira‘s steady progress in the second half of the season.
Jack Miller‘s day, on the other hand, was more of a step backwards. After setting the sixth fastest time in FP1 in the morning, he struggled in the afternoon to find the right feeling (and timing, slowed down also by yellow flags) to put together a lap fast enough to break into the session‘s top 10. With the 16th time at the end of Practice, Miller will now have to fight through Q1 tomorrow in search of one of the two available spots to advance into Q2.
Indonesian GP schedule:
Saturday: 10:.10 (4:10 CET) Free Practice 2; 10:50 (3:50 CET) Qualifying; 15:00 (9:00 CET) Sprint Race (13 laps – 55,91 km)
Sunday: 10:40 (4:40 CET) Warm-up; 15:00 (8:00 CET) Race (24 laps – 116,13 km)
GINO BORSOI – Team Director, Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP
“An interesting weekend for Miguel, who struggled this morning but then managed to find a very good balance both on race pace and on the time attack, earning direct access to Q2 with a lap time very close to Rins and Quartararo. Miller‘s day, on the other hand, was unusual: he did very well in the morning, but in qualifying he wasn‘t able to produce that extra spark he usually finds. There‘s some work to do. Tomorrow it won‘t be easy to get into Q2, as many strong riders are also left out, but we‘ll give it a try.”
Miguel Oliveira: “A good Friday — finally straight into Q2. I‘ll sleep a little more relaxed tonight. From the start of Practice the feeling was good; I felt comfortable both with the medium and the soft front. I managed two solid time attacks, riding alone and consistently, and for once no yellow flags, so I‘m happy. This morning it was really difficult to get the rear tyre working, and in my first laps I almost crashed three or four times within the first five. Now the goal is a strong qualifying and then to fight for some points in the Sprint.”
Jack Miller: “I‘m happy with today‘s performance, even if it doesn‘t fully show on paper. Between yellow flags and a few other issues, the bike felt good here, and the pace was strong. Riding alone I was able to put in some good laps, which is encouraging. There‘s still one area, Turn 6, where we need to work a lot — I‘m losing quite a bit there because I can‘t hold partial throttle the way I‘d like. Apart from that, everything is positive. I feel confident we can dip into the 1‘29s tomorrow. It‘s going to be an exciting Q1, and we‘ll need to bring our best.”
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More from a press release issued by Ducati Lenovo Team:
Day one at Mandalika Circuit for the Ducati Lenovo Team: Marc Márquez is eleventh, Francesco Bagnaia seventeenth.
The Ducati Lenovo Team has tackled the opening day of practice for the Grand Prix of Indonesia at the Mandalika Circuit. Marc Márquez finished Practice in eleventh place, while Francesco Bagnaia wrapped up the afternoon session in seventeenth. Both riders will therefore partake in Q1.
Fifth quickest in the morning, Márquez crashed unhurt twice in the first half of Practice. He then made his way back to third with 14 minutes left but was bumped out of the top ten in the final seconds. Bagnaia, on the other hand, was unable to improve in what turned into a chaotic final part of the session, with yellow flag situations limiting his time-attack opportunities.
The Ducati Lenovo Team will resume proceedings tomorrow morning at 10:10 local time (GMT +8), followed by Q1 at 10:50 and Q2 at 11:15. The eighteenth Sprint of the season will take place from 15:00 over a 13-lap distance.
Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 11th
“The day started off in a positive way and I was riding well, but in the afternoon the feeling was really strange. I crashed twice: the first time I lost the rear, and the second one was a highside without warning. When we changed the tyre, the situation got back to normal, but I chose not to take too many risks. It will be my first Q1 of the season tomorrow, which is not ideal, but this is racing. We surely need to improve the feeling for tomorrow, also because this circuit doesn’t suit my riding style perfectly.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 17th
“For some reason, we’re not able to perform well at the rear-end. It’s strange because last year we were competitive from the get-go, while now it takes several laps to make everything work. Riding-wise, I can’t be as effective under braking on corner entry as in Japan, but we’ll try to fix this. I’m sure the track conditions will improve as the weekend progresses, but for now the situation is quite challenging.”
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More from a press release issued by CASTROL Honda LCR:
CASTROL Honda LCR rider Johann Zarco concluded Friday’s sessions at the Mandalika Circuit in 14th position.
- The Frenchman delivered a solid morning performance in Indonesia, identifying both encouraging positives and key areas for improvement with the new package.
- Despite suffering a crash during Practice, Zarco battled fiercely and maintained positions within Q2 contention. Unfortunately, a second crash late in the session prevented him from securing a spot in Q2.
- The team is focused on adjusting the setup to help Johann feel more comfortable and confident on the bike, as there are still some areas where he doesn’t feel at ease to fully push. On the bright side, he has shown strong potential in sector two, where speed and performance have improved noticeably.
- There is a promising opportunity to advance from Q1 to Q2, with the team fully committed to further progress ahead of tomorrow’s qualifying and Sprint race.
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More from a press release issued by IDEMITSU Honda LCR:
Somkiat Chantra completes Friday sessions in Mandalika
IDEMITSU Honda LCR rider Somkiat Chantra finished 20th on Friday at the Mandalika Circuit in Indonesia.
- Thai rider Somkiat Chantra got off to a positive start at the Mandalika Circuit, a track he knows well and where he’s had strong results in the past.
- Riding a MotoGP bike here for the first time brought a mix of good signs and a few challenges as he adjusted to the new demands.
- In the afternoon, Chantra started Practice with good pace, but a crash midway through the session disrupted his rhythm. Fortunately, he didn’t suffer any physical consequences, though the incident prevented him from pushing further, and he ended the day in 20th place.
