Indonesian MotoGP: Luca Marini puts Honda fastest in FP1
Luca Marini and Honda top opening practice for the 2025 Indonesian MotoGP.
After Joan Mir’s podium at Motegi on Sunday, team-mate Luca Marini took over the HRC limelight by leading opening practice for the Indonesian MotoGP.
The Italian switched to new medium tyres to vault to the top by 0.136s over KTM’s Pedro Acosta (new front tyre, old rear) on his final lap.
Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi was quickest for much of the 45-minutes and finished third, as the fastest rider not to have changed tyres, keeping the same hard front and medium rear rubber.
Also on old hard-medium tyres, for one of the biggest surprises of the morning, was Yamaha’s Alex Rins, who briefly led the session on his way to fourth.
The Spaniard’s pace on 22-lap old tyres led to suggestions the on-screen tyre data might have been incorrect but was later confirmed as true by the official classification.
Newly crowned MotoGP champion Marc Marquez kicked off the weekend with fifth place for Ducati Lenovo, but team-mate and double Motegi winner Francesco Bagnaia was only 17th.
Both kept the same tyres throughout the session.
Pramac Yamaha’s Jack Miller fitted new tyres for a late sixth place, with Rins’ team-mate Fabio Quartararo staying on old rubber for seventh.
VR46’s Fabio di Giannantonio, Mir and Gresini’s Alex Marquez completed the top ten.
Gresini’s Fermin Aldeguer was the only faller but many riders suffered scares on the hot and slippery surface.
The hard front and soft (Sprint) or medium (Grand Prix) rears were the preferred choice for last year’s Indonesian round.
Michelin has modified its medium front compound, after riders disliked the former version and skipped straight from soft to hard in the past.
Riders usually selected ‘unwanted’ compounds for FP1 to avoid using up their favoured tyres on a dirty track.
This afternoon’s Practice, which will decided direct Q2 access, will thus be more representative of race and qualifying pace.
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Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
