Submitted by David Emmett on
Luca Marini has taken top spot on the second day of the Mandalika test. The Mooney VR46 rider shot to the top of the standings in the final half hour of the test, as the riders switched from testing mode to chasing a fast time. Repsol Honda rider Marc Marquez took second spot, two tenths behind Marini, and a fraction ahead of Maverick Viñales, the Aprilia continuing to go well.
Fabio Quartararo put the Monster Energy Yamaha into fourth, ahead of the Suzuki of Joan Mir and the Pramac Ducati of Johann Zarco. Enea Bastianini popped up to seventh at the end of the session, while Pol Espargaro ended eighth. Jorge Martin led Pecco Bagnaia for the last two spots in the top ten, while Brad Binder, who had led the timesheets for most of the day, dropped down to eleventh.
The track has cleaned up considerably from yesterday, with a clean line with a lot of grip forming. Off line, the track remains very dirty, heavily punishing mistakes. But the increased grip means that times dropped by over a second on Saturday, the riders dropping into the 1'31s within the first hour, and Marini ending with a best time of 1'31.289.
The test ends on Sunday, the final day of the Mandalika test, as well as the 2022 preseason.
Times:
| Pos | No. | Rider | Bike | Time | Diff | Prev |
| 1 | 10 | Luca Marini | Ducati | 1'31.289 | ||
| 2 | 93 | Marc Marquez | Honda | 1'31.481 | 0.192 | 0.192 |
| 3 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | Aprilia | 1'31.516 | 0.227 | 0.035 |
| 4 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | Yamaha | 1'31.564 | 0.275 | 0.048 |
| 5 | 36 | Joan Mir | Suzuki | 1'31.586 | 0.297 | 0.022 |
| 6 | 5 | Johann Zarco | Ducati | 1'31.586 | 0.297 | |
| 7 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | Ducati | 1'31.599 | 0.310 | 0.013 |
| 8 | 44 | Pol Espargaro | Honda | 1'31.605 | 0.316 | 0.006 |
| 9 | 89 | Jorge Martin | Ducati | 1'31.665 | 0.376 | 0.060 |
| 10 | 63 | Francesco Bagnaia | Ducati | 1'31.725 | 0.436 | 0.060 |
| 11 | 33 | Brad Binder | KTM | 1'31.814 | 0.525 | 0.089 |
| 12 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | Yamaha | 1'31.849 | 0.560 | 0.035 |
| 13 | 42 | Alex Rins | Suzuki | 1'31.884 | 0.595 | 0.035 |
| 14 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | Aprilia | 1'31.906 | 0.617 | 0.022 |
| 15 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | Honda | 1'31.918 | 0.629 | 0.012 |
| 16 | 73 | Alex Marquez | Honda | 1'31.980 | 0.691 | 0.062 |
| 17 | 49 | Fabio Di Giannantonio | Ducati | 1'32.047 | 0.758 | 0.067 |
| 18 | 88 | Miguel Oliveira | KTM | 1'32.200 | 0.911 | 0.153 |
| 19 | 4 | Andrea Dovizioso | Yamaha | 1'32.303 | 1.014 | 0.103 |
| 20 | 43 | Jack Miller | Ducati | 1'32.318 | 1.029 | 0.015 |
| 21 | 25 | Raul Fernandez | KTM | 1'32.401 | 1.112 | 0.083 |
| 22 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | Ducati | 1'32.471 | 1.182 | 0.070 |
| 23 | 87 | Remy Gardner | KTM | 1'32.598 | 1.309 | 0.127 |
| 24 | 40 | Darryn Binder | Yamaha | 1'33.053 | 1.764 | 0.455 |
Comments
Mandalika is lika equalizer
Mandalika is lika equalizer track? Six manus in top six yesterday and five in top five today within .3 seconds. Well...one lap pace. During testing. So far. Not counting those that did not go for a fast lap at the end. And on and on...