At the end of the first day’s action at the Indonesian Grand Prix, it looked like a year had made little difference as far as the form book was concerned. Aprilias held the first three spots in Practice as Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse) led the factory bikes of Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin.
More telling was the advantage on the stopwatch. Only Fernandez’s fellow Aprilias managed to get within half a second of the Spaniard on Friday afternoon. Marc Marquez was fifth-fastest, but fully seventh-tenths of a second off Fernandez’s pace.
Like last season, the Aprilia advantage at Mandalika is built on a clear edge in the high-speed part of the track, particularly the second sector. Nonetheless, Fernandez said he was surprised by the margin.
“It’s something that we expected, that this kind of track can be easier for us – but not like we saw in Practice, to be honest.”
Asked if he saw the other manufacturers catching the Noale-produced bikes, Fernandez was doubtful.
“Right now I feel that it’s very difficult. If you had to make an ideal track for Aprilia, it’s this one. Fast corners, flow… super easy for us.”
With the medium rear likely to be used in the race on Sunday, Fernandez found confidence in more than just his single-lap pace.
“We saw that with the medium I was even more happy. I was not faster than with the soft, but I felt more comfortable. And this is for me the most happy thing on the day.”
While Aprilia showed the way at Mandalika in 2025, it was Bezzecchi who led the charge. But Fernandez scored his first grand prix win at the following round in Australia, and has since also added the 2026 British GP trophy to his cabinet. His current confidence and apparent liking for fast, flowing circuits make him a tricky rival for his stablemates.
Fernandez also has the freedom to race without worrying about the championship points battle in which the factory is embroiled.
Marco Bezzecchi, Aprilia Racing
Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images
Asked if the lack of points pressure could help him, Fernandez said: “Maybe, yes. I think the good thing for us is we don’t need to have the pressure. I don’t want to disturb them [the factory Aprilias], but we have a really good opportunity and I want to enjoy it.”
Bezzecchi was pleased with Aprilia’s Friday too, but adopted a more cautious tone at this point in the weekend.
“I wasn’t expecting anything in particular, but it’s good for the whole factory in Noale. They are working super well, so I’m happy for them.
“But remember that it’s just Friday. It’s important to go directly to Q2, but Friday doesn’t really matter too much in the end, during the weekend.
“Tomorrow and Sunday are more important, but it’s already a good start.”
The only major negative for the Aprilia quartet on Friday was Ai Ogura failing to make it directly into Q2. The Japanese rider fell off during Free Practice 1 and fractured the little finger on his right hand. Although he was cleared to take part in Practice, he was unable to find a lap good enough for the top 10.
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