Mario Aji Makes Progress On Day One Of Mandalika's Moto3 Free Practice, Hiroshi Aoyama: He Made A Small Mistake

MANDALIKA - Indonesian racer, Mario Suryo Aji, performed quite well on the first day of the Moto3 free practice session at the Mandalika Circuit, Friday, March 18. Although he has not been able to get out of the top 20, the Honda Team Asia racer has succeeded in sharpening his record time.

In the first free practice session (FP1), Mario Aji took the 26th position with a time of 1 minute 54.223 seconds. However, in the second free practice session (FP2), the rider from Madiun improved his position and record time.

In FP2, he placed 23rd with a time of 1 minute 42.336 seconds.

Honda Team Asia manager, Hiroshi Aoyama said Mario Aji was more careful in FP1 because the track was wet due to rain. However, he was able to appear more daring in FP2.

"We started the Indonesian GP in Mandalika with a wet track. We tried to make Mario do as many laps as possible. He was a little careful," said Aoyama, in Honda's official website.

"In the afternoon the conditions turned dry, and he started to get bolder. The rhythm was pretty good."

"At the end of training he lost a few positions, but he could have raced alone in 1 minute 41 seconds, a small mistake prevented him from doing that."

However, Aoyama believes Mario Aji will perform better in the future. "This is only the first day, and there is still a lot of room for improvement," he said.

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.