MotoGP Indonesian GP: Live commentary and updates from Mandalika

We're now properly into the second half of the race. Aprilia has managed to avoid self-destruction and things are looking good. Massimo Rivola will be trying not to think about Barcelona, Balaton Park, yesterday....

Well, the replay reveals that Acosta let Marquez go past! Tyre pressures, one assumes...

Marquez is through on Acosta! But it's only a sliver of a lead and Acosta is trying to fight back.

In the battle for fourth, there is under a second blanketing Acosta, Marc Marquez and Di Giannantonio. 

Fernandez and Bezzecchi are trading hottest sector times at the moment.

...and right on cue, Bezzecchi sets the fastest lap.

The gap up at the front is down to half a second....

Just to confirm what we said before: everybody is running the medium rear and the soft front.

Fernandez has completed a third of the race and this is absolutely Aprilia's to lose. Even if Raul's finger fitness proves an issue later in the race, Bezzecchi and Martin are waiting in the wings. The gap between second and third has now swollen to two seconds however. 

Fernandez is pushing, pushing....two red sectors this lap....Bez responds with a red final sector though

Bezzecchi is 0.7s behind Fernandez, who is not showing outward signs of finger trouble at this early stage. Long way to go for that fracture, however.  Meanwhile, in the group 15s behind the lead Aprilias,  Marquez is coming under pressure from Acosta.

So here's your top 10: Fernandez, Bezzecchi, Martin, Marquez, Acosta, DiGia, Alex Marquez, Ai Ogura, Lucas Marini and Francesco Bagnaia.

Di Giannantonio has lost another place now, this time to Pedro Acosta.

Martin set fastest lap whilst passing Marquez - quite a statement!

Martin thus inherited fourth, and has just made that third with a move on title rival Marquez! Bezzecchi in second place is 1.5s up the road however. 

Yep, it was yet another start gone wrong for DiGia - could be worse though.

Oh, this looks lovely for Noale as its two leading contenders make daylights behindi them. Jorge Martin , however, is sixth...no, wait, fifth as he passes Di Giannantonio. Fermin Aldeguer is fourth. 

Tyre pressures, on the other hand, were decisive in the sprint and Jorge Martin was forced to give up a comfortable lead due to his pressure warning lighting up on the dash. As always, it's a guessing game the teams have to try and get right.

Ah yes, tyres! Rubber was the talking point this time last week at Motegi. This week couldn't be more different. It looks like everyone will go with the medium rear and soft front, which would be no surprise.

We've just had Indonesia's rousing national anthem. (It's one of those where the name of the country pops up repeatedly, if you're amused by that sort of thing.) The crowd is loud but that is what happens when 65,069 spectators harness their collective voice. 

A reminder that any kind of finish today for Marquez will be his best Mandalika result in a Sunday race. He may have won the sprint yesterday but he has not, as a rule, had a good time at this place. One year ago, he was hit from behind on the opening lap by Bezzecchi, which ended his season early. He is still battling the injury from that accident.

If Marc makes the podium today and has to spend additional time in roasting leathers after the race, he isn't going to enjoy it any more than he did on Saturday. The air temperature sounds reasonable at 29 degrees, but the circuit is absolutely sizzling at 61 degrees. Yep, sixty-one! And there's the humidity to consider as well. 

Marc Marquez has given an interview to the world feed on the starting grid! That's not always guaranteed. Will it earn him some brownie points in with the organisers? He's not been making himself popular with them of late with some of his words and actions around riders' off-track commitments...

There have been attempts, apparently, to get Fernandez and Bezzecchi to speak to each other and ensure things don't go awry for Aprilia like they did on Saturday. They have the two fastest packages and will once again line up alongside each other in first and second. Here's the full grid:

Grid

All Stats

 

Cla	Rider	#		Bike	Time	km/h
1	R. Fernández Trackhouse Racing Team	25		Aprilia	1'28.852	174.627
2	M. Bezzecchi Aprilia Racing Team	72		Aprilia	+0.109 1'28.961	174.413
3	F. Di Giannantonio Team VR46	49		Ducati	+0.196 1'29.048	174.243
4	M. Marquez Ducati Team	93		Ducati	+0.266 1'29.118	174.106
5	J. Martin Aprilia Racing Team	89		Aprilia	+0.300 1'29.152	174.039
6	F. Aldeguer Gresini Racing	54		Ducati	+0.380 1'29.232	173.883
7	A. Ogura Trackhouse Racing Team	79		Aprilia	+0.427 1'29.279	173.792
8	A. Marquez Gresini Racing	73		Ducati	+0.534 1'29.386	173.584
9	P. Acosta Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	37		KTM	+0.556 1'29.408	173.541
10	F. Bagnaia Ducati Team	63		Ducati	+0.934 1'29.786	172.810
11	F. Morbidelli Team VR46	21		Ducati	+0.938 1'29.790	172.803
12	F. Quartararo Yamaha Factory Racing	20		Yamaha	+0.985 1'29.837	172.712
13	A. Rins Yamaha Factory Racing	42		Yamaha	+0.982 1'29.834	172.718
14	E. Bastianini Tech 3	23		KTM	+1.027 1'29.879	172.632
15	L. Marini Honda HRC	10		Honda	+1.185 1'30.037	172.329
16	B. Binder Red Bull KTM Factory Racing	33		KTM	+1.396 1'30.248	171.926
17	J. Miller Pramac Racing	43		Yamaha	+1.505 1'30.357	171.718
18	M. Viñales Tech 3	12		KTM	+1.652 1'30.504	171.439
19	T. Razgatlioglu Pramac Racing	7		Yamaha	+1.680 1'30.532	171.386
20	J. Zarco Team LCR	5		Honda	+1.851 1'30.703	171.063
21	D. Moreira Team LCR	11		Honda	+1.873 1'30.725	171.022
22	A. Espargaro Honda HRC	41		Honda	+2.215 1'31.067	170.380
View full results

As the riders leave the pits to head to the grid, a reminder that polesitter Raul Fernandez will do so with an injury that could really affect his chances. A fractured index finger is the consequence of yesterday's controversial first-corner incident, and the Spaniard plans on braking with his middle finger. Time will tell how well that works, but one thing is for sure: Fernandez is still steaming. Here are his thoughts from yesterday: 

First things first, we have what looks like a two-way battle for the world championship with five rounds left in the season. Marc Marquez hit the front for the first time with his sprint victory yesterday, but his lead over Jorge Martin is only four points.

Greetings MotoGP fans! This is Richard Asher opening the live text coverage of the Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika, which begins at the top of the hour. Good to have you with us!