Fabio Quartararo has ended a MotoGP practice session with confidence for the first time this year after setting the Friday pace in Indonesia.
The factory Monster Energy Yamaha team ended up one-two after the opening day of the grand prix weekend at Mandalika, with Franco Morbidelli just 0.030s away from his team-mate’s benchmark 1:31.608s.
Quartararo’s obvious displeasure with the 2022 Yamaha package has been a major talking point so far this year, and the 2021 champion finished only ninth in Round 1 in Qatar from 11th on the grid.
It looked like his frustrations were set to continue at the Indonesian Grand Prix when he was all the way back in 16th on the Free Practice 1 timesheet.
Rubbing salt into the wounds, the Frenchman was hitching a ride back to the pits just minutes into the second 45-minute session of the day when his bike apparently cut out.
However, back out on his second bike for his first run proper, Quartararo went to the top, and then edged his team-mate during the time attacks at the end of the session.
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He admitted he had been shown up by Morbidelli in the morning session, and was unable to make the hard front tyre work, but was pleased with how the day panned out in the end.
“Basically, I was not there this morning, because Franco was within the top five, so it was my fault,” said ‘El Diablo’.
“I tried my best on the hard tyre in the morning, but it was not working for us. Tomorrow, we will try it again in hotter conditions, but it was not easy.
“In the afternoon [FP2], I felt much better in much better conditions. I had a small issue, but then at the end I adapted quite quickly, and I managed to get in a great lap.
“This is the first time this year that I finished a practice feeling really confident.
“In the [pre-season] test here I also felt confident, I felt fast, and I think today’s result is a good way to bounce back from what happened in Qatar, which was disappointing.
“Even if it’s just a free practice, it’s good to have a taste of being in a better position and being faster.”
Michelin has opted for special tyre casings this weekend in order to better deal with the heat, perhaps explaining Quartararo’s tyre strategy.
Still, for Morbidelli, his performance was a sign he could be getting back to his best after battling with injury last year.
The 2020 runner-up, who finished 11th last time out at Lusail, commented after Friday practice at Mandalika, “Many things were different compared to the test: the tyres, the tarmac.
“So, it was really difficult to change things on the bike, because many key elements had changed this Friday.
“So, today we just tried to adapt to the new situation, and we did quite well, because we were decently fast, and finally also on new tyres Fabio and I were fast.
“Overall, a positive day for us I would say. I feel good. I was feeling good in Qatar too, but it‘s still early and it‘s difficult to make predictions this early on.”
Today’s action is Free Practice 3 at 13:50 AEDT, then Free Practice 4 at 17:25, Qualifying 1 at 18:05, and Qualifying 2 at 18:30.
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