Jorge Martin dominates Mandalika MotoGP qualifying, Marc Marquez nightmare
Jorge Martin untouchable for Indonesian MotoGP pole, Marc Marquez crashes twice.
MotoGP title leader Jorge Martin was in a league of his own during a dramatic qualifying session for the 2024 Indonesian Grand Prix.
The Pramac Ducati rider, bumped out of the race lead by Enea Bastianini last Sunday in Misano, set the tone by beating the all-time lap record on his opening flying lap.
Martin improved again for another new record of 1m 29.088s which put him almost one second clear of the field at the midway tyre change. The Spaniard didn't know it, but pole position was already secured.
However, there was chaos behind.
Marc Marquez had crashed at Turn 15 while trying to follow Martin, with Friday leader Bastianini also hitting the deck, albeit at a much lower speed, in Turn 16.
The resulting yellow flags meant reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia and final practice leader Franco Morbidelli joined Marquez and Bastianini in starting the last qualifying run without a lap time on the board.
Marquez sprinted for a scooter back to the Gresini pits, got on his spare bike and began the last run behind Bagnaia. But the Spaniard squandered his second chance by crashing out for a second and final time, at Turn 10, the scene of his Friday save.
After desperately trying to bump start his Desmosedici, toppling over in the process, Marquez clenched his fists and looked to the sky in frustration as he walked away.
But another GP23 rider made a very different comeback.
VR46's Marco Bezzecchi was seventh when he fell in the closing minutes but restarted his bike and snatched a surprise second on the grid, albeit 0.535s behind Martin.
Other impressive performances came from rookie Pedro Acosta, in third and the only KTM in the top 15, and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, who will start alongside factory Ducati duo Bagnaia and Bastianini on the second row.
Reigning champion Bagnaia, already 24 points behind Martin after crashing last weekend, faces a major battle to stop the Spaniard from extending his advantage in this afternoon’s Sprint.
Johann Zarco claimed Honda’s best qualifying result of the season with a commendable seventh place for LCR, ahead of Fabio di Giannantonio and Morbidelli.
Aprilia riders Maverick Vinales and Raul Fernandez will join Marc Marquez on row four.
Zarco and Fernandez reached Q2 by leading Q1, which saw Alex Marquez and Aleix Espargaro crash out and Brad Binder suffer a rear brake issue on his factory KTM.
The Mandalika Sprint race starts at 3pm local time (8am BST).
