Enea Bastianini leads a solid Friday for Jorge Martín

On a scorching Friday with little history in Indonesia and the first of many early mornings for fans who want to follow MotoGP live in the coming weeks, the image of the day was Marc Márquez and Pecco Bagnaia entering the pit lane together, after the Italian ran out of fuel just at the end of the session. The rider from Cervera, who was passing by, acted as a 'taxi driver' to take him to his box, in a friendly sequence later recounted by the Spaniard: "Pecco was just ahead of me and ran out of fuel, I passed by, saw him raise his hand and waited to tow him. Well, I understand it's intriguing because he's my future teammate, but it's more about when you cross the finish line, rivalry takes a back seat, and if you can help someone stuck there in this heat, you help them."

It wasn't Márquez's only save of the day; minutes earlier he had lifted the bike mid-corner when he was about to fall. An action he used to do with Honda but hadn't been seen with Ducati yet. "For me, the image of the day was that save," claimed Márquez himself. "It was one I hadn't done in a long time. People said I had an 'anti-fall' device on the Honda and now they've put it on my Ducati," he joked.

What might not have amused Márquez as much was the sense of superiority demonstrated by the 2024 Ducatis, which are ridden by Pecco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini in the official team, and Jorge Martín and Franco Morbidelli in Pramac Racing. The four topped the timesheets on Friday, with the best time set by Misano's last race winner Bastianini, who beat Martín by 40 thousandths, Morbidelli by 79 thousandths, and Bagnaia by 82 thousandths. Extreme equality among the 'top-notch' Ducatis.

The difference between the two riders fighting for the championship is that while Bagnaia appeared doubtful (fourteenth in the morning free practice and only showed up at the top when he put on soft tires), Martín looked very solid throughout the day. Third in FP1, with pace on harder tires and, as usual, with an extra boost in 'time attack'. "I'm happy because I had a great day; I felt comfortable and didn't have to tweak anything in both practices," said Martín confirming his good feelings at Mandalika circuit.

Another three Ducatis made it into the top ten positions that give direct access to Q2 on Saturday: Marco Bezzecchi (fifth), Marc Márquez (seventh), and Fabio Di Giannantonio (ninth). The only three non-Ducati riders in that top 10 were Fabio Quartararo, sixth and starting to see green shoots on his Yamaha; Pedro Acosta, eighth after an inconsequential fall at the start of the session; and Maverick Viñales, tenth with Aprilia. Among others who will have to go through Q1 are Álex Rins, Aleix Espargaró, Joan Mir, and Álex Márquez—the only Ducati outside the top ten—who was condemned by a fall in the final moments.

In smaller categories, the best time in Moto2 went to category leader Ai Ogura ahead of Arón Canet. The Japanese rider has widened his lead in recent races against Sergio García, who remains physically limited and could only finish twenty-first this Friday. In Moto3, Dutchman Colin Veijer was fastest ahead of Spaniards Adrián Fernández and David Almansa. The strongest riders in Moto3 started with modest times: Iván Ortolá ninth, David Alonso thirteenth, and Dani Holgado fifteenth.