Solid second day for KTM in scorching Indonesia MotoGP Sprint

#33 and #43 will reset and go again tomorrow. MotoGP fans can look forward to another 27-lap spectacle from 09.00 CET on Sunday.

Jack Miller, 16th in qualification, 11th in the Sprint: “A solid second day here in Mandalika. The bike was working pretty good, I’m happy enough. I was able to do a decent enough race today from not a great qualifying position. Just lacking performance through the faster corners and everything I’m making up in sectors 1, 3 and 4 I lose there. We have some homework to do to sort that out and hopefully the medium tire will help us tomorrow.”

Brad Binder, 19th in qualification, 13th in the Sprint: “Practice was going OK and qualifying really good until a technical problem that put me 19th on the grid. I got an insane start today, so good, but the ride height device didn’t unclip until Turn 11. I lost time but then my lap-times were not bad. We sacrificed too much ground on that first lap. I’ll try and be a bit smarter tomorrow and I think we can achieve a lot more.”

Francesco Guidotti, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “The Sprint result is not what we expected. Brad could not give everything he wanted in Q1 because of a problem with the rear brake. Anyway, let’s see tomorrow. The long race will be tough for everyone and there might be more possibilities to recover from the back, as we saw with Jack’s good start today. He was in the top ten for a long time and until the last lap. P11 is not our target but we have to accept the circumstances and try to go faster tomorrow.”

1. Jorge Martin (ESP) Ducati 1:29.088

2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Ducati +0.535

3. Pedro Acosta (ESP) GASGAS +0.583

21. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS 1:31.086 (Q1)

1. Francesco Bagnaia (ITA) Ducati 19:41.354

2. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Ducati +0.107

3. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati +1.701

6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) GASGAS +6.210

DNF. Augusto Fernandez (ESP) GASGAS

Jose Antonio Rueda was just half a second from provisional Moto3 Pole Position on Friday. The Spaniard was part of a top fifteen split by one second as the field looked for tows and the best way to find an advantage around the 17 curves of the Mandalika layout. On Saturday Rueda had to come through Q1 but then constructed a lap good enough for 10th and 0.8 from Pole. The Aragon GP winner will have to serve a Long Lap penalty for slow riding in the race tomorrow. Xabi Zurutuza made his first laps of the Indonesian asphalt and the rookie forged the 23rd best lap to slide into the same position on the grid for 20 laps Sunday morning. He’ll also need to fulfill a Long Lap sanction.

In Moto2 Celestino Vietti came to Indonesia flush with confidence after his victory the previous Sunday at Misano. The Italian took his time to find his pace on Friday and ranked behind Deniz Öncü who had recovered from the illness that blunted his challenge in Emilia Romagna. Saturday saw more hot and demanding conditions and through the Q2 dash it was Öncü who had the better grid slot in 11th as the top fifteen were divided by less than half a second at Mandalika. A crash in the first minute of the session meant a hectic chase for Celestino and he couldn’t break the timing beam, having to settle for 18th. Moto2 will rush around the circuit for 22 laps on Sunday.

1. Ivan Ortola (ESP), KTM 1:37.332

2. Collin Veijer (NED) Husqvarna +0.257

3. Taiyo Furusato (JPN) Honda +0.369

5. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO +0.513

7. Tatsuki Suzuki (JPN) Husqvarna +0.746

14. Daniel Holgado (ESP) GASGAS +1.067

19. Jacob Roulstone (AUS) GASGAS 1:38.766 (Q1)

23. Joel Esteban (ESP) CFMOTO +1:39.165 (Q1)

1. Aron Canet (ESP) 1:33.434

2. Jake Dixon (GBR) CFMOTO +0.069

3. Ai Ogura (JPN) +0.070

13. Darryn Binder (RSA)Husqvarna +0.412

16. Senna Agius (AUS)Husqvarna +0.541

19. Izan Guevara (ESP) CFMOTO 1:34.168 (Q1)