Moto3 Debut At Mandalika Circuit, Mario Aji: Not A Good Day, But Not Bad Either

Honda Team Asia racer from Indonesia, Mario Suryo Aji. (Doc. MotoGP)

MANDALIKA - Indonesian racer, Mario Suryo Aji, made his debut at the Mandalika Circuit. He finally tasted the Mandalika Circuit on the first day of the Moto3 free practice session, Friday, March 18.

The Honda Team Asia racer made a fairly good result, although he has not been able to get out of the top 20 position.

In the first free practice session (FP1), the Astra Honda Racing Team dropout took the 26th position with a time of 1 minute 54,223 seconds. Meanwhile, in the second free practice session (FP2), Mario Aji took the 23rd position with a time of 1 minute 42,336 seconds.

Mario Aji said that he had quite a bit of difficulty in FP1 because the track conditions were half wet and half dry. However, he was able to perform better when the track was completely dry in FP2.

"In FP1, I struggled with grip because the track was quite difficult, half wet and half dry. I didn't find a good rhythm with the bike," said Mario Aji in a written statement after the free practice session.

"In FP2 the track was finally dry, and I felt much more confident. Although the position was not as I expected, I am happy because I feel better than from Qatar," he said.

After trying out the Mandalika Circuit, Mario Aji felt happy and enjoyed riding his motorbike there.

"Mandalika's layout is very pleasant, and I really enjoy it. As a resume, not a good day, but not a bad day either," he concluded.

Moto3 Mandalika will continue with the third free practice session on Saturday, 19 March. On the same day, a qualifying session will be held which will determine the starting position during the race, Sunday, March 20.