Fernandez leads the Aprilia charge in Lombok
Trackhouse Aprilia's Raul Fernandez dominated the qualifying practice session at the Indonesian Grand Prix at Lombok today, breaking the lap record in the process.
Aprilia was expected to dominate here as the layout suits the characteristics of their bike more than it does the Ducatis. But it was not expected to be the satellite team, looking resplendent in their new/old Gulf colour scheme.
Factory Aprilia rider Marco Bezzechi finished second and looked fast for most of the day, and he needs to be. If he doesn't outscore his team-mate Martin and Marc Marquez this weekend, his championship will be effectively over.
Jorge Martin leads the title race by a mere 2 points going into this weekend and he knows he needs to capitalise on Aprilia's advantage at this circuit by extending his lead on his rival Marquez. He finished in 3rd place, 0.25sec ahead of Marc who was top Ducati in 5th place.
They sandwiched the ever impressive Pedro Acosta, once again performing miracles on the KTM. He could possibly do Martin a favour on Sunday if he has the pace to also demote the Ducatis.
Diggia was 6th followed by the equally impressive Fabio Quartararo on board his uncompetitive Yamaha. Despite suffering a heavy crash early in the session, the Frenchman immediately improved his time on his spare bike. One to watch to disrupt the form in qualifying perhaps.
Alex Marquez and Frankie Morbidelli put their Ducatis in 8th and 9th whilst Pecco Bagnaia managed a rare passage in qualifying two by squeezing into 10th place and the end of the session.
Ai Ogura suffered a crash which hampered his efforts, finishing only 13th, but he will hope to progress into Q2 tomorrow and join his fellow Aprilias at the sharp end.
Last years winner, Fermin Aldeguer, crashed twice trying to repeat last years form, but he is also on last years Ducati and unlikely to repeat his heroics of 2024.
In Moto2, there is a real story developing as season long leader Manuel Gonzalez is repeating what happened in '24 where he dominated all season, only to be beaten by Diogo Moreira in the closing stages. He arrives in Indonesia after an inconsistent few results and only 20 points ahead of Ivan Guevera, who has won the last 3 races and topped todays sessions.
