Sept 28 (Askume) – MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin produced a solid performance at the Indonesian Grand Prix in Mandalika on Saturday after a chaotic qualifying session, taking pole position.
Martin set the fastest time on the Mandalica International Street Circuit with a time of 1:29.088, beating VR46 Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi and Tech3’s 20-year-old novice Pedro Acosta.
“I’m happy. I felt really good today. I was running a lot of old tires,” Martin said.
Bezecki put in a strong final lap to finish second fastest, getting back on the bike after a collision with two minutes remaining in qualifying, and claiming a spot on the front row.
Asked how he did it, the Italian said: “Honestly, I don’t know. Before the last lap I wanted to slow down a bit in the last stage and then pick up the pace for the last lap.
“I lost concentration and crashed. Fortunately, the bike was okay. The law enforcement officer helped me start the bike. Immediately after the crash, I started flying for the last time.”
“I knew I could be fast but I didn’t imagine being on the front row. So, what can I say? I’m happy.”
Two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia is fourth in the standings, 24 points behind Spanish rider Martin.
At the start of the second season, Gresini Racing’s Marc Márquez failed to set a lap time when he lost control and slid onto the gravel, resulting in yellow flags that ruled out lap times for several other drivers as well.
The Spaniard crashed again at Turn 10 towards the end of the race, taking his total number of crashes to four in the last three Q2 races.
Gresini’s Alex Marquez started strong in the first quarter and took the lead in the first half but suffered a hard collision and failed to make it into the second quarter.
Trackhouse Racing’s Miguel Oliveira did not compete in qualifying due to a broken wrist he suffered in a crash during practice on Friday .
