Indonesian racer Mario Suryo Aji failed to find his best form on the first day of the 2026 French GP after falling outside the top 14 in the Moto2 practice session at the Bugatti Circuit, Le Mans, on Friday.
The Honda Team Asia rider closed the practice session in 25th position with a best time of 1 minute 35.405 seconds, more than a second behind leader Izan Guevara who recorded 1 minute 34.348 seconds.
This result meant that Mario had to start his struggle from the first qualifying session (Q1) and failed to secure an automatic ticket to Q2.
The racer from Magetan, East Java, had hoped to break into the top 14 after improving his time in the final minutes of the session.
However, Mario had an accident shortly after posting his best lap.
With less than five minutes remaining, he was unable to return to the track and had to end the session early.
Previously in the first free practice (FP1), Mario also still had difficulty finding his rhythm and only finished in 27th place with a time of 1 minute 36.445 seconds.
In fact, the French GP was the momentum Mario had hoped for to bounce back after a difficult start to the season. In the first four rounds of the 2026 Moto2 season, the 22-year-old rider failed to finish three times, including in the final race at Jerez.
Meanwhile, Izan Guevara was fastest in practice, narrowly edging out Celestino Vietti. Both riders have been consistently competitive since FP1.
Barry Baltus completed the top three, followed by Ivan Ortola and Alonso Lopez.
