Álex Márquez and the rest of the MotoGP class got their first taste of the new Mandalika circuit in Indonesia as the final pre-season test started on Friday. The LCR Honda CASTROL rider endured a tough introduction to the venue with wet conditions and a dirty track making life difficult, but was still able to make solid headway on the first of three days in Lombok.

The session got underway in wet conditions, but was then halted to allow for the track to be cleaned with dust and debris making grip hard to achieve. Álex again opted to focus his attention on set-up and race pace and was able to get through 62 laps in total. Although he finished the day in 15th on the timesheets, he was again happy with the rhythm and feeling he generated on his new 2022 machinery.


Álex Márquez – 15th - (1’33.700)

“Ok, so first day here in Mandalika. It was a really strange morning, it was difficult on the track and difficult to understand things, but then the track became cleaner and we were able to make some steps with our rhythm in the afternoon and we completed 62 laps in the dry which was important to give us some reference points. I’m really happy about the rhythm and bike performance and also how the team are working. We needed to put on a soft at the end, but we were more focused on race pace doing a good job there. I’m looking forward to tomorrow, making more steps and being closer, but I’m sure we can be competitive at this track.”