Aprilia dominates crash-strewn Mandalika MotoGP Friday
Trackhouse rider Raul Fernandez led an Aprilia 1-2-3 in a crash-heavy end to MotoGP practice day at the Indonesian Grand Prix.
The Aprilia once again lived up to its pre-weekend billing of being the bike to beat, but Fernandez was a cut above the opposition - setting a new MotoGP track record of 1m28.725s at Mandalika as factory duo Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin were the only riders to get within half a second of his best time.
But the fourth Aprilia will have to contest Q1 on Saturday morning, as Ai Ogura - who had a significant crash through the fast Turn 8 left-hander in first practice - backed out of his final lap in the afternoon session and could only register the 13th-fastest time.
KTM's Pedro Acosta was the best non-Aprilia in the order in fourth, 0.669s back, with Marc Marquez the best Ducati rider in fifth ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46).
Fabio Quartararo recovered from a big off through Turn 8 midway through the session, as he was sent up in the air after hitting a lip in the gravel trap, to progress to Q2 in seventh on what was a stronger showing than usual for Yamaha.
His factory team-mate Alex Rins had used the tow to improve into the top 10 in the final 10 minutes of the session, but a crash at the final corner put paid to his hopes of improving and he ended up a tenth shy of the top-10 cutoff, with Jack Miller just 0.007s further back in 12th.
The final berth instead went to Pecco Bagnaia on the second factory Ducati, marking the first time he progressed directly to Q2 since June's Dutch GP.
Alex Marquez also made it through in eighth despite crashing in the final moments, salvaging something for his Gresini Ducati team at the end of a torrid session; team-mate Fermin Aldeguer, the defending winner at Mandalika, crashed twice (having also fallen in first practice), later had a mechanical issue, and also impeded Franco Morbidelli - who was ninth-fastest - and remained under investigation for doing so.
Results
1 Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) 1m28.725s
2 Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia) +0.219s
3 Jorge Martin (Aprilia) +0.481s
4 Pedro Acosta (KTM) +0.669s
5 Marc Marquez (Ducati) +0.701s
6 Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) +0.705s
7 Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) +0.833s
8 Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) +0.847s
9 Franco Morbidelli (VR46 Ducati) +0.968s
10 Pecco Bagnaia (Ducati) +1.061s
11 Alex Rins (Yamaha) +1.151s
12 Jack Miller (Pramac Yamaha) +1.158s
13 Ai Ogura (Trackhouse Aprilia) +1.229s
14 Luca Marini (Honda) +1.312s
15 Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) +1.426s
16 Toprak Razgatlioglu (Pramac Yamaha) +1.427s
17 Brad Binder (KTM) +1.522s
18 Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) +1.589s
19 Diogo Moreira (LCR Honda) +1.676s
20 Maverick Vinales (Tech3 KTM) +1.941s
21 Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM) +1.943s
22 Aleix Espargaro (Honda) +2.969s
