MotoGP practice has concluded in Mandalika as part of the Indonesian Grand Prix, with Marco Bezzecchi confidently securing the top spot on the timesheets. The Aprilia rider displayed consistent pace and significantly outperformed his competitors, reinforcing his status as the stage favorite.
The main talking point of the day was a difficult run for Marc Márquez, who crashed twice and, for the first time this season, failed to advance directly to Q2. He missed out by just 0.068 seconds, but that was not enough to automatically secure a place in the next qualifying round.
Weather conditions in Mandalika proved extremely challenging: air temperatures reached 30 degrees, while the track heated up to 58. Many riders struggled under these conditions. In addition, Ai Ogura and Jorge Martín were absent due to injuries, with no replacements available.
At the start of the session, riders experimented with different tire options. For example, Luca Marini chose two soft compounds while Bezzecchi opted for mediums. Márquez decided to combine medium and soft sets. The LCR team had a problematic start with Joan Zarco and Somkiat Chantra crashing, but both were able to continue on their spare bikes. Márquez also went down at turn ten but returned to the track with help from marshals. He said the cause was excessive rear wheel grip.
Ducati Corse engineer Gigi Dall’Igna suffered minor facial injuries in a swimming pool accident. Pedro Acosta topped the provisional timesheets after choosing an unusual combination: hard front tire and soft rear. Aleix Espargaró visited the track in preparation for private Honda tests scheduled for next week.
Bezzecchi, after fitting fresh soft tires, significantly improved his lap time, dipping below 1:30 for the first time—though still far off Jorge Martín’s 2024 record. Márquez endured two scary moments and crashed again, this time in Turn 5, taking hits to his head and shoulder, but was able to continue. Francesco Bagnaia had a poor start to the session and found himself at the bottom of the timesheets.
Márquez aimed to maintain his unique achievement—always qualifying directly for Q2 in 2025. After returning to the track, he moved up to sixth place but made a mistake in Turn 15, before briefly rising to fourth.
Álex Márquez also couldn’t avoid a crash—an incident in Turn 12 led to several fast laps being canceled due to yellow flags. Bastianini and Zarco joined the list of session participants who ended with crashes. As a result, Marc Márquez will have to start from Q1 for the first time since summer 2024. Bagnaia was also among those who failed to go through directly.
The top ten included: Bezzecchi, Aldeguer, Acosta, Marini, Raúl Fernández, Mir, Quartararo, Rins, Oliveira, and Álex Márquez. Heading to Q1 are: Marc Márquez, Morbidelli, Binder, Zarco, Bastianini, Miller, Bagnaia, Di Giannantonio, Viñales, and Chantra. Both factory Ducatis and both Desmosedici VR46s missed the top 10—something that hasn’t happened since 2023. Yamaha, on the other hand, placed three bikes in the top ten.
The junior Moto3 and Moto2 classes also saw their share of drama. In Moto3, José Antonio Rueda claimed third place, which was not enough for the championship. In Moto2, Arón Canet again failed to advance directly to Q2 after a crash, while Manu González set a new track record. The lists of riders moving on to Q2 and those relegated to Q1 have been published.
