Cookie Consent by Free Privacy Policy website Small issues hold back Repsol Honda Team potential in Indonesia
marzo 18, 2022 - Honda Racing

Small issues hold back Repsol Honda Team potential in Indonesia

Comunicato Stampa disponibile solo in lingua originale. 

A strong morning in mixed conditions for #polespargaro and #marcmarquez opened the #Mandalika weekend before blazing afternoon temperatures and incredibly tight times presented a new challenge, small issues ultimately hiding the true speed of both riders.

The long-awaited return of #MotoGP to #Indonesia finally got underway on Friday, March 18 as Free Practice began in Lombok. Overnight showers left the circuit wet in the morning, but intense sunshine would see conditions dramatically improve for the afternoon sessions. As always, the margins in #MotoGP continue to be some of the tightest ever seen with only 1.6 seconds splitting the entire 24-rider grid.

Pol Espargaro picked up right where he left off in the #test, the Repsol Honda Team rider topping Free Practice 1 by 0.044. The end of FP1 saw all of the #MotoGP riders pushing for a fast final time as the track conditions continued to improve. With a 1’33.499 as his reference from the morning, Espargaro rolled out of the garage for the afternoon session. The track some 14°C degrees hotter than it had been, the #Mandalika Circuit presented a series of completely new challenges but the #44 was able to lap within the top five as the session went on. Unfortunately, a front brake problem on his final run saw Espargaro unable to improve on his best time.

Friday in #Indonesia was equally as productive for #marcmarquez and his side of the Repsol Honda Team, especially during the morning. Ending FP1 in third place, less than a tenth of a second behind Espargaro, the new RC213V continued to show well as Marquez worked to find the limit here in #Indonesia. Free Practice 2 saw the #93 suffer a fast fall at Turn 11 – avoiding any major injury but not returning to the circuit for the final minutes of the session. Like his teammate, the untimely fall and how tight the #MotoGP field is meant that Marquez will provisionally be in Q1. He, like many others, is hoping for sunshine tomorrow.

Saturday morning will be a crucial session for the Repsol Honda Team pair as they hunt top-ten positions to advance directly into Q2. Rain will of course be a factor to watch out for on Saturday and Sunday with the forecasts currently suggesting a gloomy outlook. No matter the conditions, the Repsol Honda Team are preparing for a busy evening to be ready and back at the front no matter what comes.

Pol Espargaro

19th 01'32.6280

“When we look at the day overall it’s a good day. We started well with P1 in the morning and then in the afternoon our speed was not too bad. There was a problem with the front brake during our run with the soft tyre so I couldn’t improve like I wanted to but before that we were able to run inside the top five. There was the potential to be in the top five and sadly these kinds of problems can happen, we are not worried about it. The important thing is that the lap time is coming, when I want to push – I can push and get the lap time. Tomorrow is a new day and hopefully the morning is dry so we can improve to Q2, I have the speed.”

Marc Marquez

22nd 01'32.8470

“Today in the morning we were able to go quite well but then in the afternoon we had a crash when it was not the time to have a crash. This can happen when you are pushing for one fast lap. We still need to work on what tyre will be best for the race, this will be the main objective for tomorrow. Before the crash it was OK, but we will have to see what the situation is tomorrow. Not happy for the result and hoping for dry conditions tomorrow morning.”

Indonesia Grand Prix Friday Practice Results

Pos.

Rider

Num

Nation

Team

Constructor

Time/Gap

1

QUARTARARO Fabio

20

FRA

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

1'31.608

2

MORBIDELLI Franco

21

ITA

Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP

Yamaha

0.030

3

ZARCO Johann

5

FRA

Pramac Racing

Ducati

0.285

4

MARTIN Jorge

89

SPA

Pramac Racing

Ducati

0.296

5

BASTIANINI Enea

23

ITA

Team Gresini #racing MotoGP

Ducati

0.313

6

MILLER Jack

43

AUS

Ducati Lenovo Team

Ducati

0.357

7

ESPARGARO Aleix

41

SPA

Aprilia Racing

Aprilia

0.400

8

BINDER Brad

33

RSA

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

KTM

0.409

9

OLIVEIRA Miguel

88

POR

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

KTM

0.441

10

RINS Alex

42

SPA

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

0.498

11

DOVIZIOSO Andrea

4

ITA

WithU Yamaha RNF #MotoGP Team

Yamaha

0.695

12

NAKAGAMI Takaaki

30

JPN

LCR Honda

Honda

0.706

13

VINALES Maverick

12

SPA

Aprilia Racing

Aprilia

0.736

14

DI GIANNANTONIO Fabio

49

ITA

Team Gresini #racing MotoGP

Ducati

0.810

15

BEZZECCHI Marco

73

ITA

Mooney VR46 #racing Team

Ducati

0.863

16

MARQUEZ Alex

73

SPA

LCR Honda

Honda

0.946

17

FERNANDEZ Raul

25

SPA

Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing

KTM

0.949

18

GARDNER Remy

87

AUS

Tech 3 KTM Factory Racing

KTM

1.018

19

ESPARGARO Pol

44

SPA

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

1.020

20

MIR Joan

36

SPA

Team Suzuki Ecstar

Suzuki

1.033

21

BAGNAIA Francesco

62

ITA

Ducati Lenovo Team

Ducati

1.237

22

MARQUEZ Marc

93

SPA

Repsol Honda Team

Honda

1.239

23

BINDER Darryn

40

RSA

WithU Yamaha RNF #MotoGP Team

Yamaha

1.406

24

MARINI Luca

10

ITA

Mooney VR46 #racing Team

Ducati

1.615