Marc Marquez encouraged by Indonesia MotoGP practice form

Marquez describing himself as closer than expected is worth noting precisely because expectation management is part of his competitive toolkit — when he says he's surprised by his own pace, it usually means the setup work is ahead of schedule. Friday practice in Indonesia is a single data point, but for a rider still bedding into the Ducati factory structure, finding confidence early in a weekend matters more than raw lap time. The fact that his own assessment is the headline, rather than a specific gap or position, suggests the story is about trajectory rather than a result — which is often where Marquez is most dangerous.