IndonesianGP: Raul Fernandez Breaks Record in Practice

Trackhouse Rider Becomes the First Man Into the 1:28s With a 174.5 km/h Benchmark, Beating Bezzecchi’s 2025 Record, and Leaves Martin’s Title Rival Marc Marquez Fifth on a Crash-Strewn Friday

Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) set a new all-time lap record at the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit on Friday. His 1:28.725 topped the Practice timesheets at the Indonesian Grand Prix. Marco Bezzecchi was second and championship leader Jorge Martin third, so the Aprilias held the top three for the first time in Practice history.

The session was marked by falls, with Fabio Quartararo, Enea Bastianini (twice), Diogo Moreira, Alex Marquez and Alex Rins all coming off. Fermin Aldeguer’s Ducati also ground to a halt in the gravel.

Fernandez’s lap beat the previous all-time record of 1:28.832, set by Bezzecchi in 2025, by 0.107 seconds. It came on his 19th lap of the afternoon, on a new set of soft front and soft rear tyres, and averaged 174.5 km/h around the 4,301-metre layout. He lowered his own benchmark in stages, setting a 1:29.252 on his 18th lap before going quicker again on the next.

His improvement across Friday was large. He was fifth in the morning’s Free Practice 1 on 1:30.534 and found 1.809 seconds in the afternoon. Conditions were dry in both sessions, with air temperature at 29°C, track temperature at 58-59°C and humidity around 71-72%.

The Spaniard, who won this season’s British Grand Prix, finished 0.219 seconds clear of Bezzecchi. Those two were the only riders to break into the 1:28s.

The Aprilias were already strong in the morning. Bezzecchi topped FP1 with a 1:30.132, ahead of Marc Marquez (+0.237), Martin (+0.266), Pedro Acosta (+0.294) and Fernandez (+0.402). Honda HRC’s Aleix Espargaro, standing in for the injured Joan Mir, was 22nd, 2.777 seconds off the pace.

The first half of the afternoon session saw two sizeable spills. Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), the 2025 Indonesian GP winner, fell at the final corner. Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) had a fast fall at Turn 9. Both riders were unhurt and back out in the second half, with Quartararo consolidating a provisional Q2 place.

In the second half Fernandez took control of the timesheets, ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio. Bezzecchi was third, and Marc Marquez and Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) completed the top five. With 15 minutes remaining, Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP), Moreira (Pro Honda LCR) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) were all outside the top ten and needed fast laps.

The final stretch brought more crashes. Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech3) fell at Turn 9, almost identically to Quartararo’s earlier fall. He returned to the pits quickly, but sat 17th and urgently needed to get back out. Fernandez then set the 1:29.252 and followed it a lap later with the 1:28.725 record. Marc Marquez moved up to second before a big moment into Turn 1. Meanwhile Aldeguer’s Ducati stopped in the gravel.

Moreira crashed at Turn 11 and also ended up in the gravel, which finished his session and left the Brazilian in Q1. That came after he took his first Sprint podium at Motegi a week earlier.

A flurry of late improvements followed. Martin moved up to third, and Jack Miller (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) climbed to tenth. Alex Marquez then fell at Turn 16, which left him seventh and vulnerable. Moments later Rins crashed at the final corner. Bastianini went down a second time before the flag, completing what was a difficult Friday for him.

Nobody could get near Fernandez’s record once the chequered flag fell. Martin was 0.262 seconds behind Bezzecchi, who completed the most laps of any rider with 28. Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) had a quiet session in fourth, just ahead of Marc Marquez and Di Giannantonio. Quartararo booked his Q2 place in seventh, ahead of Alex Marquez, a late charge from Morbidelli, and a salvaging effort from Bagnaia.

Rins missed direct Q2 progression by 0.090 seconds. Miller, in 12th, was also less than a tenth away from the top ten, at 0.097 seconds. Ai Ogura (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) is in Q1 in 13th, ahead of Luca Marini (Honda HRC Castrol), Aldeguer and Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP). Moreira and Bastianini, after their falls, are also in an action-packed Q1 on Saturday.

Heading to Q1: Alex Rins (11th, 1:29.876), Jack Miller (12th, 1:29.883), Ai Ogura (13th, 1:29.954), Luca Marini (14th, 1:30.037), Fermin Aldeguer (15th, 1:30.151), Toprak Razgatlioglu (16th, 1:30.152), Brad Binder (17th, 1:30.247), Johann Zarco (18th, 1:30.314), Diogo Moreira (19th, 1:30.401), Maverick Viñales (20th, 1:30.666), Enea Bastianini (21st, 1:30.668) and Aleix Espargaro (22nd, 1:31.694).

The Aprilias’ dominance matters given the championship picture. Martin leads Marc Marquez by just two points, 333 to 331, after Marquez’s Motegi double. Bezzecchi is third on 284 and Fernandez seventh on 216. Aprilia Racing leads the team standings on 617 points, ahead of Ducati Lenovo Team on 495 and SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team on 453. Ducati and Aprilia are level on 469 points in the constructors’ standings.

Marquez was second in FP1 but only fifth in the afternoon, 0.701 seconds off the benchmark, and he must now work to close that gap in the remaining sessions.

Credit Photo : MotoGP