POL ESPARGARO FASTEST AT MANDALIKA CIRCUIT
Day 1 of the final MotoGP pre-season test at the Mandalika circuit has concluded with all six manufacturers occupying a spot in the top six, and topped by Honda’s Pol Espargaro.
It was the first time that MotoGP riders had driven around the Indonesian circuit ahead of its debut grand prix in a couple of months.
Due to overnight storms track conditions were filthy at the start of the day with mud, grass and debris all over the circuit.
Riders were hesitant to go out on circuit when the track was in this stage, and as a result the session was soon red flagged to be cleaned.
Lap times were not as fast as predicted when the session resumed, but as the track improved as the day went on the times were slashed.
At the end of the day, it was an Espargaro 1-2 with Pol leading his brother, factory Aprilia rider Aleix by a comfortable 0.471s.
Both riders set their best times on the penultimate lap of the day.
“It was a bit of a tricky start to the day in the morning,” Pol Espargaro said.
“The track was dirty but the track improved as we continued to ride on it and cleaned the track.
“As the day went on, we could ride in a better way and start to learn more about the track and also our bike, which is still quite new.
“Finally, I did a good lap and overall, my rhythm was good, but it’s just the first day and tomorrow everyone will go a bit faster.
“The bike keeps improving and we are just at the start of our journey but it’s promising. Now it’s time to rest tonight and get back to work tomorrow.”
With an hour to go light rain stopped play and saw most riders remain in the lane for the rest of the session.
After a frustrating first test at the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia, the factory KTM team were pleased to be back inside the top three. South African Brad Binder ended the day only 0.006s behind Aleix Espargaro.
Suzuki’s Alex Rins, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and Ducati’s Jack Miller saw that all brands ended up in the top six.
Miller was 0.648s behind the fastest man Pol Espargaro, however Miller ended the day furious with Aleix after an incident on track.
Jack Miller was the highest placed Ducati on Day 1 – Image: Motorsport Images
The other Australian Remy Gardnr finished the day at the bottom of the timesheets 2.137s behind Pol Espargaro and still nursing his injury.
Maverick Vinales, Joan Mir, veteran Andrea Dovizioso and Jorge Martin rounded out the top 10, LCR Honda rider Takaaki Nakagami was the only other rider to finish the day within a second of Pol Espargaro.
Marc Marquez notably ended the day in 17th however he expressed a lot more happiness with the bike at the conclusion of the day’s running.
2022 series runner-up Francesco Bagnaia ended up in 22nd place, however suffered an early day crash which cost home crucial laps.
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