Franco Morbidelli finished on top in the first MotoGP practice around the Mandalika International Circuit in Indonesia.
Morbidelli complied a quick lap time of 1.30.689s, which placed him 0.221s ahead of second-placed Maverick Vinales and 0.529s ahead of third-placed Jorge Martin.
The Asian leg of the MotoGP calendar commenced with the first practice session around the Mandalika International Circuit in Indonesia.
Due to crisp track conditions, riders chose different tyre runs to find the right optimal pairing. Earlier in the session, riders optimised two different strategies: soft fronts and medium rears or hard softs and medium rears.
The fast flow and fluidity of the track made it difficult to tell which riders and teams were most competitive in the early phases of the first session.
After the first 20 minutes of the session, three manufacturers held the top three positions, with Ducati, Yamaha and Aprilia all looking competitive in the weekend’s early phases.
With 20 minutes left to go, GasGas KTM rider Acosta was lapping quickest with a rapid run, but he ran it a bit wide in the final sector and, therefore, couldn’t improve.
The LCR Honda duo of Takaaki Nakagami and Johann Zarco arrived into the fold to set the two fastest laps. Still, the 1-2 in the classification appeared short-lived, with Ducati again showing its speed to go quicker once again.
Miguel Oliveira suffered a huge highside at Turn 4 on a fast lap time and appeared winded. He didn’t produce another lap time again in the session.
Morbidelli, Vinales and Martin’s lap times were separated by just over half a second, with GasGas rider rookie Acosta behind in fourth spot.
The most significant talking point belonged to Honda, with Zarco finishing as lead rider with a fifth overall finish.
Gresini Ducati rider Marc Marquez finished in sixth, with Marco Bezzecchi and Enea Bastianini following suit, with the three Ducati riders separated by under two-tenths.
Luca Marini’s final run placed him in the ninth spot, with Fabio Di Giannantonio and Nakagami occupying the tenth and 11th spots to continue Honda’s showings from the first practice.
Alex Marquez finished 12th aboard the second Gresini bike, with Brad Binder, Acosta’s nearest KTM challenger, finishing 13th.
Francesco Bagnaia had a session to forget with the 14th spot, ahead of the Yamaha duo of Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins.
Jack Miller and Joan Mir delivered a lacklustre 17th and 18th place for KTM and Honda, respectively.
Despite Vinales’ strong showing with second place, the rest of Aprilia occupied the tail end of the grid with Aleix Espargaro and Raul Fernandez finishing 19th and 20th.
Augusto Fernandez finished second bottom, with Oliveira rounding off proceedings, having not set a lap time from his high side crash earlier in the session.
