Champion Marc Marquez (5th) says: “Dear Raul, rather than the other two”

At Thursday’s opening press conference, Marc Marquez emphasised that he would be going all out at the 2026 Indonesian Grand Prix. So far, the 33-year-old and the Mandalika International Street Circuit – which has been on the MotoGP calendar since 2022 – have not got on well. Marquez has scored just eleven World Championship points there in four attempts, and has never managed to finish the race on Sunday.

MotoGP Friday got off to a very good start for the Ducati rider. He finished FP1 in second place, a good two-tenths of a second behind Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia). Things looked a little different in the afternoon’s qualifying session – whilst Marquez’s fifth place easily secured him direct entry into Q2 on Saturday, the gap of seven tenths of a second to Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia), who set a lap record, was considerable.

“It went better than expected; we’re in the mix. As expected, we’re not amongst the fastest, but we’re closer than I thought. So I’m satisfied,” was Marquez’s summary of Day 1. How did the bike feel on Friday, compared to last year? “First of all, I’m in a different physical condition to last year. But the feeling is better and I can ride more consistently. We already had a bit of an understanding last year of what I need on this track. I’m consistent at race pace, but I’m still finding it harder when it comes to setting fast lap times. Let’s see if we can improve tomorrow.”

Marc Marquez is confident he can improve

Did he expect Raul Fernandez to be so fast? “I’m happy for Raul. I mean, if the Aprilia riders are putting in a good performance, then I’d rather it be Raul or Ogura than the other two,” smiled Marquez, referring to the tight title battle with Martin and Bezzecchi. “But it’s only Friday. The Aprilia riders have taken the top three places; Ogura crashed this morning and might be having a few problems. They’re super-fast on these flowing tracks. We’ll see – we’ll try to work on our strengths.”

Marquez is confident that he can improve further over the course of the weekend. “Last year, more and more rubber built up on the track as the weekend went on and the grip got better and better. I kept getting closer and closer to the top riders,” he recalled. “In the warm-up, we generally have the best grip of the whole weekend, because the sprint race on Michelin tyres takes place just before it. The data from last year also helps us to start this year with better pace. However, we still need to improve in a few areas to stand a chance of finishing in the top five or top three.”

Topic of the week

A stuttering start to the Bahrain Grand Prix: the FIA narrowly avoids a fiasco like the one in Indianapolis in 2005

Fans could hardly believe their eyes at what they witnessed at the Bahrain Grand Prix: cars crawling along, racing cars that simply came to a standstill. The FIA narrowly avoided a fiasco like the one at Indy in 2005.

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MotoGP World Championship

10.10.2026 - 02:35

What Marc Marquez has to say about Fabio Quartararo’s crash

Fabio Quartararo had a high-speed crash at Turn 8. The Frenchman was thrown through the gravel trap – and was in pain afterwards. Did Marquez take a look at the gravel on the track? “I’m fighting for the championship and haven’t paid attention to the condition of the gravel,” he dismissed the suggestion. “We’re always complaining. It’s true that it’s not good for the riders’ safety, nor is it good for the motorbikes. They’re constantly trying to adjust the budget. But the best way to save money is to protect the riders and the motorbikes in crashes like that. As we know, this section is extremely fast. And if you hit the gravel at that high speed, damage is bound to occur. I didn’t see Fabio’s crash in detail. But we riders can’t check every single corner. That’s other people’s job. So I just try to ride without thinking about things like that.”