MotoGP™’s visit to Mandalika was certainly one to remember, with title momentum swinging one way, and then another over Saturday and Sunday. In the end, it was Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) who beat Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) to glory at the Indonesian GP.

With the dust now settled on Round 15, here are some of the biggest Talking Points from the weekend.

“I had some ghosts in my mind”

Championship leader Jorge Martin managed to banish his Mandalika demons in sensational fashion on Sunday. In 2023, the Spaniard crashed out of a comfortable lead, allowing Pecco Bagnaia to swoop in to take victory and control of the Championship, while on Saturday in the Tissot Sprint, he crashed out of the lead and blanked once again. On Sunday, he steered clear of trouble to romp home to victory.

Martin: “I got my revenge. After last season and yesterday’s crash, it was a difficult race. I had some ghosts in my mind at corners 11 and 16, I was trying to be really careful.” 

“The start was a disaster”

Coming into Indonesia, Enea Bastianini was still very much in the hunt for Championship glory, but his Sunday crash saw him cough up crucial points. The Italian endured a trying start before eventually establishing a rhythm that looked like he would challenge for victory, but disaster struck on Lap 21 as he went tumbling through the gravel and out of third place.

Bastianini: “The start was a disaster. It was impossible for me to open the throttle, the rear was sliding too much. I needed eight or ten laps to get to the correct temperature.

“Over 70 points, it’s a lot to recover. I’m here to try to win. If it is possible, I’ll try to do it, but I know the situation.”

“It was actually fun, but for the Championship a bit less!”

As Martin and Acosta pulled away for first and second, the fight for the final podium spot was a tight VR46 Academy battle between Bagnaia, Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing), and Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team). Each of the Italians led the scrap at some point, but the reigning World Champion secured third, with Morbidelli in fourth and Bezzecchi in fifth.

Bagnaia: “I enjoyed it in the moment, but not for the Championship because I was stuck behind. I watched Bezz and Franky very closely at corner 10. When I was behind Bezzecchi I was trying to be close to him to arrive at the braking point but his acceleration was huge. So I tried to be close, and as soon as he made a mistake I overtook him and then the next lap I overtook Franky. It was actually fun, but for the Championship a bit less!”

Morbidelli: “It was very difficult. I was struggling with the front. I wanted to stay in front to keep my position and not put extra hot air on my tyre”

Bezzecchi: “I fought with Franky and Pecco until the end, but I lost that battle.

“When I tried to overtake Franky, I was desperate to pass. In fact, when I was going in I couldn’t stop the bike, the front was on the limit and he passed me again. They still had something more.”

“I grabbed the brakes, she went down”

Four riders failed to see the end of the opening lap in Indonesia, with an unfortunate Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) crash taking out Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™), Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) and Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team). Below, Miller and Marquez detail their perspectives of the incident.

Miller: “I let the brakes off to gain the inside for Turn 3, had a bit of a movement on the change of directions. At the pinch point I had a couple bikes in front of me and realised the closing speed was too fast. As soon as I grabbed the brakes, she went down.

“Unfortunately for me I was in the middle of the group. Massive apologies, first and foremost to the other riders and the team.”

A. Marquez: “I was in front, somebody hit me on the rear, but on the first lap in the middle of the group these things can happen.  I’m sad because I did a very good first corner and recovered many positions. We lost many points for the Championship between here and Aragon, easy 20 points. We’ve had that bad luck.”

“It’s the first top 10 of the year”

It proved another very positive weekend for Johann Zarco, with the CASTROL LCR Honda rider following up a good outing in Misano with his first top 10 of the year at Mandalika. Qualifying seventh on the grid, the Frenchman went on to enjoy a strong rider to record his best result aboard the RC213V to date.

Zarco: “Very happy to claim a top 10 today.”

“It was a good fight with Viñales and Binder. I expected to follow Quartararo but he was faster than me. I broke away from Brad but on the last few laps he caught up with me. I tried to hold my position but he was strong on the breaks and overtook me and kept the line.

“It’s the first top 10 of the year, we could get what we wanted. This track worked good for us, there’s only one corner with a big acceleration, that it’s our weak point on the bike. We had and opportunity here to be close to the guys and we got it.”