Quartararo takes Indonesia pole, Marquez falls twice in Q1

Reigning MotoGP champion Fabio Quartararo scored pole position for the Mandalika track’s first Indonesian Grand Prix, while Marc Marquez crashed out twice in the first segment.

Six-time champion Marquez attempted three runs on three fresh soft rear tyres in a bid to maximise his chances of making Q2 – but the strength of the Ducatis and traffic forced him to push too hard and consigned him to 14th on the grid.

HE'S DOWN! 💥@marcmarquez93 Q2 rush engaged!!! 🏃

If he can get back and get back out, we could be on for another vintage piece of Marquez brilliance! 👀#IndonesianGP 🇮🇩 pic.twitter.com/NDRLXEK7xR

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 19, 2022

An error-strewn push lap on his second soft rear ended with an inevitable-seeming fall at the Turn 13 left-hander, and he then got stuck behind LCR Honda stablemate Takaaki Nakagami on his final attempt, crashing out at the Turn 12 left-hander soon after passing Nakagami amid apparent desperation to make up time.

UNBELIEVABLE! 🤯@marcmarquez93 AND @JoanMirOfficial are both OUT of Q2 after last lap crashes! 🛑#IndonesianGP 🇮🇩 pic.twitter.com/Brzvj7uIvB

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 19, 2022

Qualifying was delayed after a red flag for track cleanup in the preceding fourth practice, caused by Alex Rins’ Suzuki putting down oil on the surface before properly catching on fire.

Rins’ failed to realise the scope of of the problem right away and only disembarked in the Turn 13 run-off with his GSX-RR already properly in flames – while Pramac Ducati’s Johann Zarco appeared to be caught out by the oil on track in falling three corners prior.

Quartararo took the initial lead in the pole shoot-out, four tenths up on his nearest rival Francesco Bagnaia, albeit a few thousandths short of the time Bagnaia had recorded to dominate Q1.

And indeed, Bagnaia was on course to jump ahead after swapping to a new soft rear, before failing to get the Ducati stopped in time for Turn 10 and abandoning the effort.

Instead, Quartararo lowered his time to a 1m31.067s, which left him well out of reach of his rivals – with only Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin getting within a quarter of a second.

Marin’s team-mate Zarco vaulted himself to the front row at the chequered flag while in the tow of Qatar GP winner Enea Bastianini (Gresini Ducati), with Brad Binder running behind the pair to claim fourth – and Bastianini himself picking up fifth, relegating Bagnaia to the back of the second row.

KTM’s Miguel Oliveira, fourth when the chequered flag flew, ended up shuffled down to seventh, followed by Rins and Ducati’s Jack Miller.

Crash for @AleixEspargaro! 💥

How many laps will be halted by yellow flags?! 👀#IndonesianGP 🇮🇩 pic.twitter.com/VuTu7fqtFM

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 19, 2022

Two riders crashed during Q2 and they ended up 10th and 12th respectively, with Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) and Franco Morbidelli (Yamaha) split by Gresini rookie Fabio Di Giannantonio, who’d made it out of Q1. Morbidelli, however, then received a three-place grid penalty for “positioning in front of riders staged to do a practice start” in FP3, meaning he will start 15th.

One Yamaha fights off the Ducatis, the other finds itself in the gravel! 🔄@FabioQ20 fastest as @FrankyMorbido12 loses the front! 😮#IndonesianGP 🇮🇩 pic.twitter.com/7mhuM2az4S

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) March 19, 2022

The VR46 Ducatis of Luca Marini and Marco Bezzecchi will line up ahead of Marquez and Morbidelli. While Marini did his lap by himself, Bezzecchi spent the session glued to the back of Bagnaia alongside fellow rookie Di Giannantonio, but fell while trying to keep up late on.

Pol Espargaro ended up 0.001s behind Honda factory team-mate Marquez in 16th, while Suzuki’s 2020 champion Joan Mir toiled to 18th, setting his fastest lap in the tow of the Bagnaia/Di Giannantonio/Bezzecchi trio before crashing out the very end.

Qualifying Results