Marco Bezzecchi dominated the timesheets to come out on top in a chaotic MotoGP timed practice session in Mandalika.
There was late drama as yellow flags interrupted the riders, with World Champion Marc Marquez and team-mate Francesco Bagnaia both failing to make it into the top 10 and automatically earn a spot in tomorrow’s Q2.
Johann Zarco crashed in the opening minutes of the session, while team-mate Somkiat Chantra also suffered his own trip into the gravel trap moments later.
World Champion Marc Marquez also crashed at Turn 10, before sliding out minutes later – marking the first occasion since the 2024 Indonesian GP where he suffered two crashes in a session.
Alex Marquez was the fourth crasher of the session with just two minutes remaining, losing the front at Turn 12 and having to settle for sixth at best.
Enea Bastianini brought out a further yellow flag in Sector 1, while Johann Zarco suffered his second crash of the session in Turn 8, threatening the final laps for those under pressure of a Q1 appearance.
All riders made it round to complete a final lap, as both factory Ducati riders were looking to respond to a lacklustre session which left them in seventh (Marquez) and 16th (Bagnaia).
It was Bezzecchi who went unthreatened at the top of the timetable, finishing as the fastest rider for Aprilia by 0.408s.
Fermin Aldeguer was the best Ducati rider in the session, taking second place for Gresini ahead of KTM’s Pedro Acosta in third.
The factory Honda rides remained competitive with Luca Marini in fourth and Joan Mir in sixth, while Raul Fernandez assured the two competing Aprilia machines were inside the top five by splitting the pair.
Fabio Quartararo led the pair of factory Yamaha riders as he took seventh over Alex Rins in eighth, while Miguel Oliveira also looked strong on his satellite machinery in ninth.
Despite his late crash, Alex Marquez was the final rider inside the top 10 and earned the last automatic Q2 spot over his brother Marc Marquez in 11th.
It marked the first occasion this season that Marquez would have to go through Q1 after a disappointing day left him trailing leader Bezzecchi by 0.813s.
Franco Morbidelli took the chequered flag in 12th ahead of KTM’s Brad Binder in 13th, while Johann Zarco was the final rider inside a second of the leading time in 14th.
Enea Bastianini was 15th despite his late crash, edging out Jack Miller in 16th and Francesco Bagnaia, who could only muster 17th after his strong showing last weekend in Japan.
Fabio Di Giannantonio compounded the struggles of the GP25 in 18th, while Maverick Vinales in 19th and Somkiat Chantra in 20th completed the standings.
Discussion about this post