Another wild trip to Indonesia is in the books, and the title race remains razor-thin with just two points separating the top two. Marco Bezzecchi (Aprilia Racing) put together a stunning ride on Sunday afternoon to storm to victory, pulling three points closer in the standings. Raul Fernandez (SuperFile Trackhouse MotoGP Team) fought through brutal pain for second, while title leader Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing) rounded out an all-Aprilia podium at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia.
For Bezzecchi, the win was a massive emotional redemption story after a difficult Saturday that included a crash at the start of the Sprint. Making his return from injury, the #72 took his first Sunday victory since coming back to the grid. Now sitting 46 points adrift in the title fight, Bezzecchi heads into Australia with one clear goal. "My first thought when I was in hospital was, ‘When will I be back winning?’ Everything was going well at the beginning, but then I had a hard time," Bezzecchi said. "Are you going to cry and not start today, or are you going to try your best and do the best that you can?"
The biggest problem was the power in the race, especially when I was on the brakes and in right corners,
Jorge Martin managed his weekend brilliantly to leave Indonesia with his two-point championship advantage intact. The 2024 MotoGP World Champion scored 22 points across the weekend, putting in a solid performance that included fourth in Saturday's Sprint and third in Sunday's Grand Prix. "Really satisfied with my job. It wasn't a weekend that I was super competitive; I was fast, but I struggled," Martin stated, adding that he was frustrated about missing out on potential Sprint victory due to a racing incident. "Consistency will be so important; speed and being intelligent will be super important too."
Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) defied his own expectations at Mandalika, securing a Sprint victory before crossing the line sixth in the Grand Prix. It marks the first time the #93 has finished on Sunday at the venue, leaving him with 22 points and keeping him firmly in the championship hunt. Marquez admitted he had feared losing 15 points or more at what proved to be a dominant weekend for Aprilia. "When I was coming here, I said, ‘Okay, maybe we will lose 15 points,’" Marquez noted. "In the end, we were able to be there and to leave Mandalika on the same number of points as before."
Heroism was the word for Raul Fernandez, who bounced back from a Turn 1 incident to claim a brilliant second place despite riding with two broken fingers. The injuries forced him to completely alter his braking and cornering technique, leaving him almost destroyed after 13 or 14 laps. "The problem wasn’t the pain; the problem was that the finger I broke was the one I use to brake," Fernandez explained. Meanwhile, Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) brought his machine home in fifth place after battling front tyre pressure difficulties that cost him a shot at fourth or even a podium finish. Acosta now sits fifth in the championship standings heading to Phillip Island.
It was a brutal weekend for Toprak Razgatlioglu (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP), who suffered a heavy crash in FP2 that dislocated his shoulder. Though he managed the pain with painkillers to start Sunday's Grand Prix, the physical toll proved too high as he lost braking power and was forced to retire. "The biggest problem was the power in the race, especially when I was on the brakes and in right corners," Razgatlioglu said.
