Marc Marquez “closer than we thought” in Indonesia MotoGP practice

Marc Marquez says he and Ducati are “closer than what we thought yesterday” after practice at the MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix.

The seven-time world champion has never finished a grand prix at Mandalika since it joined the calendar in 2022, with Ducati struggling massively at last year’s Indonesian Grand Prix.

But Marc Marquez began the weekend in good form, finishing second in FP1 and fifth at the end of Practice, albeit 0.7s off the pace set by Trackhouse Aprilia’s Raul Fernandez.

“My mood is another one” compared to 2025, says Marquez

Marquez said “we expected” not to be the fastest after Friday, but says the improvements he made to the bike in warm-up at the 2025 event before his season-ending crash helped him find a good base set-up to start with.

“At least we are there, in the middle of the group,” he told reporters, including Crash, on Friday.

“It’s true that we are not the fastest ones, as we expected, but closer than what we thought yesterday. So, happy.

“First of all, my mood is another one. But it’s true that the feeling is better; I’m able to ride with more consistency.

“Last year we already understood a bit what I need on this track.

“It’s true that on the race pace I feel consistent, but on the time attack is where I struggle more. So, let’s see if tomorrow we can improve.

“Last year, what I noticed was during the weekend the track was always getting more and more rubbered, and the grip was better and better, I was closer and closer to the top guys.

“So, we need to understand well. It’s true that the warm-up is the practice where we have the best grip of a weekend, because we are coming from a sprint race.

“It’s true that last year’s data helped us to start with a better base this year, but still we need to improve some areas to be more consistent - not because I’m inconsistent, but to try to be a bit faster by one, two tenths, which gives us the opportunity to fight for the top five, top three.”

“I’m happy for Raul”

Raul Fernandez broke the lap record to top Practice on Friday afternoon at Mandalika, placing him ahead of Marquez’s chief title rivals Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin.

Marquez says he is happy to see Fernandez lead the Aprilia charge, as that would ultimately benefit his championship prospects.

“I’m happy for Raul,” he laughed.

“I mean, if an Aprilia needs to peform well, I would prefer Raul or [Ai]. Ogura than the other two.

“But we are only on Friday. As we know, all Aprilias are first, second, third; they are super-fast on these flowing corners, flowing tracks.

“Let’s see. [We’ll] try to work on our strong points.”