#IndonesianGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Bagnaia masters Mandalika as Martin’s mistake cuts title lead in half
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has returned to glory in the Tissot Sprint at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, remaining unstoppable in the 13-lap shootout. The reigning World Champion grabbed 12 points on Saturday, crossing the line in front of Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), who finished a mere 0.107s behind as Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) took the final spot on the podium after a tense battle with ‘The Beast’.
Meanwhile, there was another Championship twist in Indonesia, with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) crashing out of the lead, reducing his advantage to just 12 points ahead of Sunday.
Martin made a dream launch to the Sprint, charging to the front ahead of title rival Bagnaia, who braved the outside line on the run to Turn 1. The #89 pulled the pin on the opening lap, while Marc Marquez made ground at the start after qualifying from 12th on the grid.
Everything unfolded at the end of Lap 1, with Martin crashing out of the lead at the tricky Turn 16. The Championship leader remounted, setting sights on recovering some points on Saturday, with his closest rival, Bagnaia, now promoted into P1.
The battle for the podium began, with Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Acosta and Marc Marquez starting their duel. The #93 soon made a move stick on Acosta on Lap 3, entering the top three positions as Acosta was soon under threat from Bastianini – seeing the rookie drop back to fifth.
It was a red-hot pace at the front, with the fastest lap soon placed in the hands of Bezzecchi before Bezzecchi had a huge moment on Lap 7, narrowly avoiding the reigning World Champion and dropping #72 to fourth.
Martin continued his recovering ride, launching into the top 15 and then the top 12, soon entering the top 10 after a move on Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).
Bastianini would edge closer to Marc Marquez in the closing laps, setting sights on a move with three laps remaining. ‘The Beast’ looked for an opportunity on Lap 12, making the move stick at Turn 10. The Italian was in second, with Bagnaia a further eight-tenths up the road.
On the final lap, Bagnaia kept his cool, returning to Sprint glory in another twist to an enthralling season, with the #1 crossing the line 0.107s ahead of the chasing Bastianini. It was an impressive final lap from Bastianini, beating Marc Marquez in third. The #93 added a further seven points to his Championship tally, which could prove to be crucial at the end of the season.
Behind the leading trio was Bezzecchi, who showed an encouraging pace in the early stages but was unable to recover ground that he lost after his mistake. The #72 had a comfortable advantage over Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing), with the Italian able to leapfrog Acosta, who finished down in sixth. The rookie crossed the line with less than half a second advantage over Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).
Meanwhile, CASTROL Honda LCR’s Johann Zarco secured a remarkable eighth place. It was a standout ride from the Frenchman, crossing the line in front of the fighting-fit Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), who took the final point. Martin was unable to finish higher than 10th, walking away with no points and 9.104s away from victory.
MOTOGP – RACE: Martin makes Sunday statement as Bagnaia’s late surge salvages podium
Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) stormed to glory at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, with the #89 taking his first Sunday win since the French GP. ‘The Martinator’ looked unstoppable, claiming his first victory at the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit after crashing out of the GP in both 2022 and 2023, as well as in the Tissot Sprint this season. Martin took a valuable 25 points in his Championship charge, extending his advantage from 12 to 21 as key rival Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) came home third after a late charge.
Between the two, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) pushed Martin hard in the early stages before being forced to settle for second, nevertheless moving up to fifth overall.
At the start, Martin made the dream launch, earning himself clear track ahead with Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) in chase. Meanwhile, Bagnaia struggled on the opening lap, dropping to fourth before Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) found their way through – dropping the Italian to sixth.
Meanwhile, it was a dramatic first lap, with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team) crashing at Turn 3. The FIM MotoGP™ Stewards investigated the incident, with no further action taken.
Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) was unable to repeat his magical Sprint launch, but the #93 still made ground in the opening stages. Marc Marquez started in 12th and was soon in seventh – setting sights on Bagnaia.
At the front, Martin set a red-hot pace, setting the fastest lap of the Grand Prix and extending his gap to 1.333s. Meanwhile, Acosta was on the attack, leaping into second position ahead of a charging Morbidelli in an impressive move for the rookie.
Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) had an intense fight with Marc Marquez in the first nine laps. However, everything unfolded for the Italian, losing the front at the technical Turn 10 – dropping Di Giannantonio to 17th. Meanwhile, Marc Marquez’ Championship chances then suffered a huge blow, with technical issues dropping the #93 out of contention on Lap 12 as he pulled off, bike on fire.
Behind Martin and Acosta, the battle for the podium then really began with Morbidelli, Bastianini, Bezzecchi and Bagnaia locked together on the circuit. Bastianini tried to overtake on Lap 16 before the key move came on Lap 17 – promoting ‘The Beast’ to third. It was then some incredible pace unleashed from Bastianini, edging closer at every sector to the leaders.
Bastianini’s rhythm was sensational, but then it all came apart with a crash on the entry to Turn 1 on Lap 21 – rider OK. It was a massive blow for the #23, dropping over 70 points behind Martin in the Championship as just 12 riders remained in the Indonesian Grand Prix, only two of whom were top title contenders.
Bagnaia’s momentum built from there on out, picking off Bezzecchi on Lap 22 before the move came for third place on Lap 23 – demoting Morbidelli to fourth. Acosta was a further three seconds up the road, a tough task for even a two-time MotoGP™ World Champion.
In the closing stages, Martin had a two-second advantage, controlling the pace and the race at the front. The #89 was unstoppable on the final lap, leading the charge and storming to victory by 1.404s over rookie Acosta. Meanwhile, Bagnaia took a valuable third, bagging some points which could prove to be crucial.
Fourth place was taken by Morbidelli, with the Italian showing a continuing to his impressive form. The #21 claimed the bragging rights over Bezzecchi, who rounded out the top five spots as Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) crossed the line a further 4.558s behind in sixth and ended the day as the top Aprilia rider. Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) pulled off another stunning ride, finishing in seventh for the third GP in a row, beating Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) to the line.
Meanwhile, Johann Zarco landed a ninth-place finish on an incredible day for the CASTROL Honda LCR squad, Honda’s best of the season so far. The Frenchman finished ahead of Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Racing), who took the final spot inside the top 10. Further back, Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) took 11th after an attritional day which saw Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) demoted to 12th after a 16 second penalty due to tyre pressure.
Unfortunately I was too fast entering turn one. The goal for today was to take the win, but I struggled in the early part of the race; I lost the front on several occasions, and I wasn’t able to be as quick as I wanted. With ten laps in, the situation improved a lot: the bike was more stable, and this allowed me to open the throttle in a much more decisive way. I lost a little bit of time in trying to overtake Franco (Morbidelli), but once I got clear track ahead, the gap to the frontrunners kept getting smaller. Then I lost the front. With the pace I had, I think I could have caught Acosta, although I believe Martín was out of reach.
Enea Bastianini – NC
A mechanical thing and this can happen but the positive part was that in the three laps before the issue I had a decent pace for the first time all weekend. So, we have something to check and figure out why. It means that I cannot wait to get to Japan and start work again on Friday.
Augusto Fernández – NC
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Indonesia.