Pedro Acosta casts doubt on factory Ducati struggles in Indonesian GP

Marc Marquez and Francesco Bagnaia struggled to 11th and 17th in practice, but rivals are convinced they won’t stay that far back for long

KTM’s Pedro Acosta doesn’t believe Indonesian Grand Prix practice results reflect the true pecking order, backing Ducati to rebound over the remainder of the MotoGP weekend.

Just a week after celebrating a 1-2 finish and the riders’ title at the Japanese Grand Prix, the factory Ducati team endured a rare lacklustre day in Mandalika.

Newly-crowned 2025 champion Marc Marquez crashed twice in the afternoon session and missed out on a direct entry into Q2 for the first time this season, while team-mate Francesco Bagnaia ended up 17th in a display that was reminiscent of his pre-Japan breakthrough.

Ducati’s top representative in practice was Gresini rookie Fermin Aldeguer in second, but he too finished four tenths down on the Aprilia of pacesetter Marco Bezzecchi. Aldeguer’s team-mate Alex Marquez was the only other Ducati rider to finish inside the top 10, as VR46 also failed to feature at the front of the pack.

However, KTM rider Acosta refuses to believe that Ducati won’t be on pace this weekend after he finished third behind Bezzecchi and Aldeguer on Friday.

“We are one step behind Ducati and one step behind Aprilia with Marco,” said the 20-year-old.

Asked why he feels KTM is behind Ducati in Mandalika, Acosta pointed to the 2024 edition of the Indonesia GP, when Bagnaia bounced back from a slow start to the weekend and won the sprint race.

“Give [them] time. Everything is a matter of time,” he said. "They also suffered last year. Because, if you check, last year also Pecco didn't go to the Q2 [sic], somehow, he won the sprint on Saturday. We know that Ducati are fast."

When told only Gresini Ducatis finished inside the top 10, he added: “It doesn't matter. Ducati is there. Marc and Pecco have a lot of possibilities to go there [in Q2]. Also, two Aprilias there. Also, three Hondas.

“There are many guys that now are riding fast for this. I don't know [what is happening]. It would be nice to see what's going on.”

Pedro Acosta, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / LAT Images / via Getty Images

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo, who finished a solid seventh despite admitting to struggles throughout the session, believes the competitive picture on Friday was skewed by riders not having a full understanding of Michelin’s new tyre casing for Lombok.

“We are always seeing Ducati 1-2,-3. For the first time, they are not there, and it's not for one time they are suffering,” he said. “For me, Aldeguer is second, so it's not really suffering.

“It's just suffering because of the rear tyre that gives confidence to the rider. Some riders feel [the tyre] more than others, but I don't think it's any specific bike that is suffering more or less.

“We saw three Yamahas [in Q2] today. As soon as we started the practice, I was not expecting to be in the Q2, and at the end it's Miguel [Oliveria] and Alex [Rins] also there, so this is why I was quite impressed.”

Like Acosta, Alex Marquez also expects the factory Ducati team - particularly Bagnaia - to mount a strong recovery on Saturday.

In 2023, the Italian failed to make it to Q2 and qualified 13th in one of the worst performances of his career. But he recovered on Sunday to take an impressive win en route to clinching his second title in MotoGP.

“I think it is a matter of feeling the riders have,” the younger Marquez brother explained. “Also, we see many yellow flags and all that. Other Ducatis like Marc, Morbidelli also had some good pace and some speed.

“Maybe Diggia and Pecco are struggling a little bit more but it's just Friday. [There is a] different casing on the rear tyre, so we just need to wait and see tomorrow.

“I'm expecting Pecco to be fast tomorrow because if you see historically from 2023 and '24, in his way on this track, he started [slow] on Friday and then on Saturday and Sunday, he gets more and more [stronger].

“So it's Friday and we need to take these things [with a pinch of salt], not a really clever conclusion.”