Franco Morbidelli (Ducati Desmosedici GP24) surprised all category favorites by being fastest in the first free session training for the Indonesian MotoGP Grand Prix, at the Mandalika circuit.
Morbidelli achieved a best time of 1:30.689, beating Maverick Viñales (Aprilia RS-GP) by two tenths of a second. and within five the championship leader, Jorge Martín (Ducati Desmosedici GP24).
Pedro Acosta (Gas Gas RC 16) is the first valid reference of this MotoGP free sessionalthough far from the best times in the category and with many changes in the lead, also performed at times by Marc Márquez (Ducati Desmosedici GP23) and Jorge Martín, the fastest of them all, as he dropped lap after lap. the best time of the session.
In less than ten minutes the world leader was already at 1:31.968, when the fastest lap record was held by the Italian Luca Marini since 2023, then with Ducati and now on the handlebars of a Honda RC 213 V, which hit 1 : 29,978.
Italian Franco Morbidelli (Ducati Desmosedici GP24) was next to lead by clocking 1:31.838followed by Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha YZR M 1), who finished 19 thousandths of a second (1:31.857), when they were the only ones on the track, as the other pilots had already entered their workshop for first. it’s time to make the relevant tuning changes to their prototypes.
All drivers had further work on tire tests to understand what type of compound could give them better performance in the complex conditions that the Mandalika circuit will present throughout the weekend, due to the high that temperature in the same environment as in asphalt.
One of the surprises of the session came from the Japanese Takaaki Nakagamiwho for the first time led the provisional classification on the Honda RC 213 V by running 1:31.767, although it was only a mirage that quickly disappeared as soon as Jorge Martín crossed the finish line to run 1:31.725.
At another point on the circuit, in the fourth turn, the Portuguese Miguel Oliveira (Aprilia RS-GP) was involved in the first crash of the round and the category by flying in the air and lying on the ground, which had to be watched of medical help, who removed him on a stretcher.
The second surprise for Honda came from Frenchman Johann Zarcowho took the lead with a time of 1:31.456, although it didn’t take long for Morbidelli to take it from him (1:31.221).
All the riders made a second stop in their workshops to continue setting up their bikes before making the final track outing of the session, with Morbidelli once again first to improve his time and also broke the barrier by one minute and 31 seconds in his record of 1:30.902.
In the final ‘time attack’ Maverick Viñales (Aprilia RS-GP) lowered Morbidelli’s time by hitting 1:30.910, but the Italian regained position behind him by stopping the clock at 1 :30.689, with the world championship leader, Jorge Martín, third, ahead of Pedro Acosta, Johann Zarco, Marc Márquez and the Italians Marco Bezzecchi, Enea Bastianini, Luca Marini and Fabio di Giannantonio, behind them.
Italian double world champion Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia (Ducati Desmosedici GP24) was not so successful and finished fourteenth.
Source: La Verdad
I’m Rose Herman and I work as an author for Today Times Live. My expertise lies in writing about sports, a passion of mine that has been with me since childhood. As part of my job, I provide comprehensive coverage on everything from football to tennis to golf.
