Raul Fernández Breaks the Mandalika Record as Aprilia Takes Friday

Raul Fernández found a new limit at Mandalika on Friday. The Trackhouse Aprilia rider set a 1:28.725 in Practice, lowering the circuit’s all-time lap record and finishing 0.219 seconds clear of Marco Bezzecchi. Jorge Martín completed an Aprilia sweep of the top three as the Indonesian Grand Prix began with speed, recovery work and an unsettled title fight.

The previous benchmark stood at 1:28.832. Fernández moved under it by 0.107 seconds, and no other rider joined him below 1:29. He had already won the British Grand Prix this year, and the new record gave his first day in Lombok a different kind of headline. It was a strong lap late in a session where the timing order kept shifting and several riders had to return to the track after falls.

The day had opened with Bezzecchi at the front of FP1, followed by Marc Márquez and Martín. Fernández was fifth in that opening session. The later Practice changed the shape of the order: the Trackhouse rider found the record lap, Bezzecchi stayed close and Martín moved into third. The first day therefore gave Aprilia two different kinds of strength, with the factory riders leading early and the satellite entry finishing on top.

Aprilia owns the first reference point

Bezzecchi finished second, 0.219 seconds behind his Trackhouse rival, and Martín was third. The three Aprilias made the top row of the Friday Practice classification for the first time in the session’s history. Pedro Acosta placed fourth for KTM, while Marc Márquez was fifth. The first five therefore included three Aprilias and two of the riders expected to shape the championship discussion.

The result gives Aprilia a useful opening position for the weekend, with both the factory team and Trackhouse represented at the front. It also gives Fernández a record to carry into Saturday. The lap matters as a statement of pace, while the later sessions will show how that speed translates into a qualifying position and the longer race distances.

A busy session demanded a reset

The session had a rough first half. Fermín Aldeguer fell at the final corner, and Fabio Quartararo crashed at Turn 9. Both riders were reported as okay and returned to the track. Enea Bastianini also fell at Turn 9, then had another crash later in the afternoon. Diogo Moreira, Alex Márquez and Alex Rins were among the other riders to go down as the order tightened.

That is a lot of interruption for a Friday session, and it helps explain why the final minutes became especially tense. Fernández kept improving, setting a 1:29.252 before returning with the record lap. The final group of times moved several riders into the top ten, while some well-known names missed the direct cut for Saturday’s second qualifying session.

The top ten move straight into Q2, which made the last places important. Alex Rins missed the cut by 0.090 seconds, and Jack Miller was less than a tenth away. Ai Ogura finished thirteenth, while Luca Marini, Aldeguer and Toprak Razgatlıoğlu followed. Moreira and Bastianini will also start Saturday in Q1 after their crashes. A fast Friday lap has therefore given Fernández more than the record. It has given his team a calmer route into the next stage of qualifying.

Martín and Márquez start their weekend close together

Martín leads the championship by two points over Márquez after Motegi. Their Friday positions at Mandalika were third and fifth, respectively, leaving both inside the leading group without deciding anything about the weekend. A close title margin can make every session feel decisive, though Friday Practice is first a place for riders and teams to set a baseline and secure a route into qualifying.

The pair entered Indonesia with different recent experiences of the circuit. Márquez was keen to turn the page after a difficult record at Mandalika, while Martín arrived as the championship leader. Their first times place them within the top five. There is enough pace in the field for the order to change, and Saturday’s qualifying will provide the first direct comparison for a grid position.

Mandalika gives the weekend its own character

Before the helmets went on, riders met fans through the public programme in Mataram. The event has a visible local welcome, and the crowd brings its own energy to a round that sits on Lombok. MotoGP’s media-day photographs show riders among supporters and local guests, a public scene that gives the weekend a wider frame before the competition narrows to timing sheets and braking points.

That public welcome and Friday’s falling riders sit side by side in the same event. The track asks for commitment, while the weekend asks every crew to build confidence carefully enough to repeat a fast lap. Fernández has made the record run. Bezzecchi and Martín have put Aprilia firmly on the early timing sheet. Márquez and the rest of the contenders now have Saturday to turn the opening positions into stronger ones.

Friday belongs to Fernández and his new benchmark. The session also gave Aprilia a rare 1-2-3, left the championship leader third and placed his closest pursuer fifth. Those are the first clear facts of the Mandalika weekend. The next round of practice and qualifying will reveal which of them remains useful when the grid takes shape.