Martin Shatters Records in Mandalika Qualifying as Marquez Suffers Double Disaster

Jorge Martin leads the way in Mandalika MotoGP qualifying, facing no competition, while Marc Marquez experiences a disastrous session with two crashes.

In the 2024 Indonesian Grand Prix qualifying round, MotoGP frontrunner Jorge Martin distinguished himself with a performance that stood out amidst a session filled with drama.

The Pramac Ducati competitor, who lost the race lead to Enea Bastianini in the previous Sunday's Misano event, established dominance early by surpassing the longstanding lap record on his first timed attempt.

Martin set a new benchmark once more, clocking in at 1 minute and 29.088 seconds, distancing himself by nearly a second from his competitors during the mid-race tire swap. Unbeknownst to the Spaniard, he had already clinched the pole position.

Yet, turmoil unfolded in the background.

Marc Marquez experienced a fall at Turn 15 as he attempted to keep up with Martin, while Bastianini, who was leading on Friday, also took a tumble, although at a noticeably slower pace, in Turn 16.

The outcome of the yellow flags led to defending champion Francesco Bagnaia and the top performer in the final practice, Franco Morbidelli, alongside Marquez and Bastianini, embarking on the concluding qualifying attempt without having recorded a lap time.

Marquez raced back to the Gresini pits on a scooter, mounted his backup motorcycle, and started his final attempt trailing Bagnaia. However, the Spanish rider wasted his opportunity by falling again, this time at Turn 10, the same location of his remarkable save on Friday.

Struggling to kick-start his Desmosedici and falling over during the attempt, Marquez balled his hands into fists and gazed upwards in vexation as he departed.

However, a different GP23 competitor staged a unique return to the scene.

Marco Bezzecchi of VR46 had a fall during the final moments while in seventh place, yet he managed to get back on his bike and astonishingly secured the second spot on the grid, despite being 0.535 seconds slower than Martin.

Remarkable showings were also seen from newcomer Pedro Acosta, securing a third-place finish as the sole KTM rider among the top 15, and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo. Quartararo is set to line up on the second row at the start, next to the official Ducati team members Bagnaia and Bastianini.

Defending champion Bagnaia, who fell 24 points behind Martin due to a crash in the previous race, is up against a significant challenge to prevent the Spaniard from increasing his lead in today’s Sprint.

Johann Zarco secured the top qualifying position for Honda this season, achieving an impressive seventh place for LCR, surpassing Fabio di Giannantonio and Morbidelli.

Maverick Vinales and Raul Fernandez, both riding for Aprilia, will line up alongside Marc Marquez in the fourth row.

Zarco and Fernandez advanced to Q2 after topping Q1, a session that was marked by crashes involving Alex Marquez and Aleix Espargaro, along with a rear brake problem for Brad Binder on his official KTM.

The Mandalika Sprint race kicks off at 3pm in the local time zone, which is 8am British Summer

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