03:47
Marc Marquez is sitting in the Repsol Honda garage waiting to start the final six rounds of his Repsol Honda career.
Marco Bezzecchi, Ducati MotoGP Mandalika 2023
2023 Indonesian MotoGP: Friday Practice - LIVE UPDATES
Reigning MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia is now just 3 points clear of a charging Jorge Martin heading into the final six rounds of the season.
Martin has outscored Bagnaia for the past seven races in a row heading into Mandalika, where Miguel Oliveira took a wet victory in the inaugural 2022 event.
The circuit has been resurfaced (again) since last year’s race. There has been no prior MotoGP testing on the latest asphalt, while the extreme temperatures mean Michelin will bring its heat-resistant stiffer construction rear tyres.
Having slipped 54 points from Bagnaia, Marco Bezzecchi’s title hopes took another blow when he fractured his collarbone in a training accident last weekend, the same injury suffered by team-mate Luca Marini when he hit the back of Bezzecchi at the start of the Indian Sprint.
Undergoing surgery on Sunday, Bezzecchi aims to join Marini in being back on track this weekend but will need to pass a second medical check after FP1.
Also attempting comebacks are LCR Honda’s Alex Rins (broken leg at Mugello), Lenovo Ducati’s Enea Bastianini (hand and ankle injuries at Catalunya) and Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez (fractured ribs in India).
Marini and Bastianini both have a long lap penalty waiting to be served, for causing accidents.
13 Oct 2023
03:46
When the session does get underway, the reference lap time will be Fabio Quartararo's 1m 31.067s pole time from 2022 (the race then taking place in the wet).
03:44
A power cut in the pits during Moto2 means MotoGP FP1 will start a few minutes late.
03:42
It seems a long time since March 2022, the last time a MotoGP lap was completed at the Mandalika circuit.
Since then the track has also been resurfaced, but the dusty conditions caught out Moto3 title leader Jaume Masia and Moto2 leader Pedro Acosta in their respective opening practice sessions.
