Indonesian MotoGP: Full race week schedule in Mandalika
Thursday March 17
Track technical test - 05.30-7.15 UK
Track safety inspection test - 07.30 UK
Riders track familiarisation - 07.30-0900 UK
Pre-event press conference with Enea Bastianini, Brad Binder, Pol Espargaro, Marc Marquez and Fabio Quartararo - 10.00 UK
Friday March 18
Moto3 Free Practice 1 - 02.00-02.45 UK
Moto2 Free Practice 1 - 02.55-03.35 UK
MotoGP Free Practice 1 - 03.50-04.35 UK
Moto3 Free Practice 2 - 06.15-06.55 UK
Moto2 Free Practice 2 - 07.10-07.50 UK
MotoGP Free Practice 2 - 07.05 UK
Saturday March 19
Moto 3 Free Practice 3 - 02.00-02.40am UK
Moto2 Free Practice 3 - 02.55-03.35 UK
Moto GP Free Practice 3 - 03.50-04.35 UK
Moto3 Qualifying 1 - 05.35-05.50 UK
Moto3 Qualifying 2 - 06.00-06.15 UK
Moto2 Qualifying 1 - 06.30-06.45 UK
Moto 2 Qualifying 2 - 06.55-07.10 UK
MotoGP Free Practice 4 - 07.25-07.55 UK
MotoGP Qualifying 1 - 08.05-08.20 UK
MotoGP Qualifying 2 - 08.30-08.45 UK
Sunday March 20
Moto 3 Warm-up - 03.00-03.10 UK
Moto2 Warm-up - 03.20-03.30 UK
Moto GP Warm-up - 03.40-0400 UK
Moto3 Race - 05.00 UK
Moto2 Race - 06.20 UK
MotoGP Race - 08.00 UK
Indonesian president attends racetrack
President Jokowi was in attendance at Mandalika on Wednesday ahead of the first Grand Prix in Indonesia since 1997.
MotoGP Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia: President attends racetrack, full story here
Should ride-height devices be banned?
The latest episode of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast tackled the thorny issue of whether ride-height devices should be allowed in MotoGP, amid opposition from Ducati's rivals.
The latest issue of the Crash.net MotoGP podcast saw Keith Huewen, Peter McLaren and Harry Benjamin discuss both sides of the ongoing debate over the use of holeshot/ride-height devices in the premier-class.
Download the full podcast here:
Fabio Quartararo: More details here
"I'm feeling good and ready to start riding at Mandalika again. We did a good job here during the winter test. We got a lot of work done and completed many laps, so we will make good use of that," Quartararo said.
"Our pace was good here during the test, but many of our rivals were fast, so every detail and every fraction of a second will count."
"We have left the Qatar GP behind us now, but that doesn‘t mean we have forgotten about it. We've learned from it and are now ready to put up a strong fight in Indonesia," added team director Massimo Meregalli, suggesting the tyre pressure issue, caused by rising temperatures when following other riders in the race, should at least be resolved.
Despite a longest straight of only 507m, many of Mandalika's 11 right and 6 left turns are taken at high speed, putting a premium on handling.
"The layout of Mandalika circuit suits our bikes quite well. After the test, part of the circuit has been resurfaced, and we have to see how it will work," Meregalli said. "We'll start the weekend closely similar to how we ended the test in February because both Fabio and Franky [Morbidelli] were quite satisfied about their bikes.
"We are definitely looking forward to this weekend. The Indonesian fans are incredibly passionate about MotoGP, and with this being the first MotoGP race here, anything can happen."
