Marco Bezzecchi starts Mandalika Saturday with a record, Pecco Bagnaia falls back into'nightmare

Setting a new Mandalika circuit record thanks to a time of 1:28.832, Marco Bezzecchi earned the right to start from the pole position in the Sprint Race and Sunday’s Mandalika GP. The Aprilia rider anticipates, in an unprecedented front row, Fermin Aldeguer of Team Gresini Racing (+0.398) and Raul Fernandez on Aprilia Trackhouse (+0.452).

Some surprises also on the second row, where Alex Rins on a Yamaha (+0.504), Pedro Acosta on a KTM (+0.511) and Luca Marini on a Honda (+0.681) fit in. Only the third row for the Marquez brothers, with Alex setting the seventh fastest time on the Gresini Racing Ducati (+0.909) and newly crowned world champion Marc Marquez (factory Ducati) only ninth at 941 thousandths from pole. Between them, in eighth place, Fabio Quartararo on Yamaha (+0.939).

Completing the fourth row are Miguel Oliveira on Yamaha Pramac (+1.019), Fabio Di Giannantonio on Ducati VR46 (+1.052) and Joan Mir on Honda (+1.127), the last to participate in the decisive Q2. Saturday to forget for Pecco Bagnaia: the winner of the Japanese GP does not go beyond sixteenth place on the grid, missing the transition from Q1 to Q2 by more than three tenths of a second.

Ahead of Bagnaia will start, in the fifth row, Franco Morbidelli on a Ducati VR46, Jack Miller on a Yamaha Pramac and Brad Binder (who got the same best time as Bagnaia, but before him in chronological order) on a KTM. On the sixth row, in addition to the Ducati’s Piedmontese, will be his former teammate Enea Bastianini on KTM Tech3 and Johann Zarco on Honda LCR. Last row for Somkiat Chantra on the’other Honda of the team founded by Lucio Cecchinello and for Maverick Viñales on KTM Tech3.