Cycle News Staff | September 27, 2024
2024 Indonesian MotoGP News—Friday
Oliveira out with broken radius
Miguel Oliveira’s is facing a spell on the sidelines after suffering multiple fractures to the radius bone in his right arm. The Portuguese rider had a nasty highside exiting Turn 4 midway through Friday morning’s MotoGP FP1 session, and he was later flown to hospital in nearby Mataram, which confirmed the break.
Team Manager Wilco Zeelenberg stated the crash stemmed from a mechanic issue. “Unfortunately, we had a technical issue and Miguel crashed quite badly,” said the Dutchman.
“Most likely it might require surgery,” said Trackhouse Aprilia Team Principle Davide Brivio. “He will fly back tonight and is going to miss Japan for sure. The doctor said it was something serious. Now the question mark is how many weeks (the recovery) will take. It’s not ideal with all these races coming up.”
2025 MotoGP calendar confirmed
After months of speculation, the 2025 MotoGP provisional calendar has finally been released with 22 Grand Prix included. Next year’s series will run for eight and a half months, starting in Thailand on March 2nd and before finishing in Valencia on November 16th.
Many in the paddock expect Round 2 in Argentina (16th March) to not go ahead due to the uncertain political situation there, with Austin’s Circuit of the Americas ready to host the GP of the Americas on March 30th. Brno makes a welcome return for Round 12 (July 20th), while the first Hungarian GP since 1992 will be held at the Balaton Park Circuit on August 24th.
“We start with some single events at the beginning of the season,” said Carlos Ezpeleta, Dorna’s Chief Sporting Officer, “and a less compressed end of season,” referring to the fact there are no triple headers in back-to-back weekends.
Di Giannantonio considering surgery
Fabio Di Giannantonio is contemplating surgery for the left shoulder he dislocated during the Austrian GP in mid-August. The Italian has said his physical situation has not been improving, but knows surgery could prematurely end his season, with the run of six races in eight weeks.
“I have the best staff at home and also the races that are monitoring the shoulder to understand how the condition is day by day, and the plan is to do all the season this year and to be ready for next year,” he said. “We are trying to understand what the best decision for the shoulder is, whether it needs surgery or not.
“At the moment, we have not made any decision. We are trying to recover and are working 100 percent each day, trying to recover and reduce the inflammation, but at the moment, nothing is decided, we are just trying to understand how my situation is day by day.”
Friday MotoGP
A new Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit all-time lap record belongs to Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) after the #23 topped the Practice timesheets on a scorching afternoon in Indonesia. The Emilia-Romagna GP winner surfed his way to a stunning 1:29.630 to lead Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) by just 0.040s, as the World Championship leader’s teammate Franco Morbidelli and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) round out a top four split by less than a tenth.
It was a fairly eventful start to proceedings on Friday afternoon as we saw Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) crash at Turn 1 in the opening 10 minutes, before we witnessed a classic Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) save – the #93 dug his right elbow and knee into the asphalt and somehow kept his Ducati GP23 sunny side up at Turn 10. Incredible.
A quieter part of the session – in terms of the outright pace – then took place as riders ran through their respective Practice checklists, and despite the crash, Acosta led to timesheets from Marc Marquez heading into the final 25 minutes of Friday afternoon with a 1:30.411.
Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) was the first rider to slot in a fresh soft rear Michelin tyre for a time attack, and the Italian climbed to P2 on his first effort – 0.004s away from Acosta.
With 13 minutes to go, Martin propelled himself to the summit with a 1:30.317 as we strapped in for the Friday afternoon all-in laps. On his next flyer, Martin destroyed the lap record after landing a 1:29.670, with Bagnaia’s first effort 0.888s adrift on his main title rival. The second attack from Pecco was an improved one, but a lap only good enough for P9.
The other Ducati Lenovo Team rider wasn’t suffering the same troubles though. Bastianini was the new session pacesetter with eight minutes left after ‘The Beast’ set a 1:29.630 – 0.040s faster than Martin. Meanwhile, a crucial final four minutes were coming up for Bagnaia as he found himself in P12. That was soon P9 as Bagnaia improved, as Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) crashed at Turn 16 while shadowing the reigning World Champion.
And when it mattered most, Bagnaia delivered. The #1 went P9 to P3 before Morbidelli popped up to P3 to demote his compatriot down to P4, as the session ended without any dramas for the top four in the World Championship chase.
Bezzecchi found a late time to earn P5 on Day 1 in Indonesia, with Fabio Quartararo again impressing on his Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ machine to stick his YZR-M1 in P6 – a phenomenal effort from the Frenchman. Marc Marquez will head straight into Q2 in P7, as the eight-time World Champion completed his good deed of the day to help Pecco get back to the box after the Italian ran out of fuel.
Acosta, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) are the other riders heading into Q2 automatically, as Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR) and Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team) miss out by less than a tenth in P11 and P12 as Honda continue to show signs of progression.
2024 Indonesian MotoGP Results—Friday
1 |
Enea Bastianini |
(Ducati Lenovo Team) |
1:29.630 |
2 |
Jorge Martin |
(Prima Pramac Racing) |
+0.040 |
3 |
Franco Morbidelli |
(Prima Pramac Racing) |
+0.079 |
4 |
Francesco Bagnaia |
(Ducati Lenovo Team) |
+0.082 |
5 |
Marco Bezzecchi |
(Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) |
+0.140 |
6 |
Fabio Quartararo |
(Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ Team) |
+0.214 |
7 |
Marc Marquez |
(Gresini Racing MotoGP™) |
+0.255 |
8 |
Pedro Acosta |
(Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) |
+0.331 |
9 |
Fabio Di Giannantonio |
(Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) |
+0.356 |
10 |
Maverick Viñales |
(Aprilia Racing) |
+0.370 |
Friday Moto2
World Championship leader Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) hit the ground running in Indonesia to lead the pack heading into Saturday’s action thanks to a new lap record around the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit. The Japanese rider’s 1:33.690 saw him beat Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) by 0.057s, as Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) completed the top three, 0.163s away from the summit.
Fermin Aldeuger (Beta Tools SpeedUp) showed some strong pace to claim P4 on Day 1 and sit under two tenths shy of his fellow Boscoscuro rider Ogura.
2022 Indonesian GP race winner, Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia), enjoyed a solid start to his Friday with a P5 finish in Practice 1.
Jake Dixon (CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) and the impressive Senna Agius (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) set the exact same lap time to finish P6 and P7 respectively, while title-chasing Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) and Emilia-Romagna GP winner Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) have work to do on Saturday morning from P21 and P23.
2024 Indonesian Moto2 Results—Friday
1 |
Ai Ogura |
(MT Helmets – MSI) |
1:33.690 |
2 |
Aron Canet |
(Fantic Racing) |
+0.057 |
3 |
Tony Arbolino |
(Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) |
+0.163 |
4 |
Fermin Aldeguer |
(Beta Tools SpeedUp) |
+0.197 |
5 |
Somkiat Chantra |
(IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia) |
+0.203 |
6 |
Jake Dixon |
(CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team) |
+0.359 |
7 |
Senna Agius |
(Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) |
+0.359 |
8 |
Manuel Gonzalez |
(QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2™) |
+0.468 |
9 |
Darryn Binder |
(Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) |
+0.565 |
10 |
Joe Roberts |
(OnlyFans American Racing Team) |
+0.587 |
Friday Moto3
Moto3™ has landed at the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit, with Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) topping the standings after an impressive Friday. The Dutchman destroyed the lap record, giving him a 0.154s advantage over the field as the only rider in the 1:37s. Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) continued his impressive recent form in second, ahead of David Almansa (Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team), who claimed a strong P3 after nearly 20 laps in Practice 1.
It was an eventful start to the weekend, with a number of riders crashing in the fist session of the day including Championship leader David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) at Turn 4 – rider ok but after Practice 1 in the afternoon, he sits P13 but two places ahead of key rival Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3)
Luca Lunetta (SIC58 Squadra Corse) would dip under the lap record first in the afternoon before Veijer grabbed top spot – taking the fight to Honda after a notable day for the Japanese factory. By the end of play, four Hondas complete the top five: Fernandez, Almansa, his teammate Matteo Bertelle and Lunetta
Stefano Nepa (LEVELUP – MTA), who had a strong day to finish ahead of Round 12 winner Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) in seventh. Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) took eighth on his first visit to the track, after topping the first session too. Ivan Ortola (MT Helmets – MSI) and Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP’s Tatsuki Suzuki complete the top ten.
2024 Indonesian Moto3 Results—Friday
1 |
Collin Veijer |
(Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) |
1:37.942 |
2 |
Adrian Fernandez |
(Leopard Racing) |
+0.154 |
3 |
David Almansa |
(Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team) |
+0.226 |
4 |
Matteo Bertelle |
(Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team) |
+0.237 |
5 |
Luca Lunetta |
(SIC58 Squadra Corse) |
+0.284 |
6 |
Stefano Nepa |
(LEVELUP – MTA) |
+0.427 |
7 |
Jose Antonio Rueda |
(Red Bull KTM Ajo) |
+0.561 |
8 |
Angel Piqueras |
(Leopard Racing) |
+0.591 |
9 |
Ivan Ortola |
(MT Helmets – MSI) |
+0.724 |
10 |
Tatsuki Suzuki |
(Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) |
+0.768 |
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