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Pedro Acosta thinks he is “getting closer and closer” to achieving his first win in MotoGP after delivering a second-placed finish in Indonesia. The rookie sensation finished only 1.4s behind race winner Jorge Martin and claimed his fourth podium in 2024. An aggressive start to take second in the early stages paid off with Acosta […]

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Pedro Acosta thinks he is “getting closer and closer” to achieving his first win in MotoGP after delivering a second-placed finish in Indonesia.

The rookie sensation finished only 1.4s behind race winner Jorge Martin and claimed his fourth podium in 2024.

An aggressive start to take second in the early stages paid off with Acosta showing his raw speed and competitiveness with the Ducati riders, bringing home a much-needed 20 points to add to his championship tally.

As a result, Acosta regains fifth place in the standings, with only Martin, Francesco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez ahead of the youngster.

“We need to be happy because we have got this consistency inside the top five, which against Ducati is not easy,” reflected Acosta.

“But we are getting closer and closer.”

Acosta and Martin on the podium. Caption: Red Bull Content Pool

The importance of bringing the bike home

Acosta had a difficult outing at the previous round in Misano, with the 20-year-old failing to finish at both Grand Prix outings.

The Spaniard admitted that he opted for a risk-averse approach to make amends for the points lost from the previous two Sunday races in Rimini.

“I said from Tuesday that this track was a little bit easier for us because we don’t have massive grip and normally the KTM is quite fast in these conditions.

“It’s true that it was not an easy weekend because we were struggling [on Saturday] with some problems that we were able to solve and use to help us for this and I don’t know, I’m super happy with just things, all the testing that is around with Dani [Pedrosa] and Pol [Espargaro], also the people that are working in the factory, so these awesome guys are assembling all these results.”

“In Misano we had good pace and I was competitive, but in both I crashed.

“I tried to catch him but I had a moment on lap 16 that allowed him to pull away again, so I say that maybe it is better to have second place than to have another crash.”

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Francesco Bagnaia: Jorge Martin ‘impossible to beat’ in MotoGP Indonesian GP https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/10/01/francesco-bagnaia-jorge-martin-impossible-to-beat-in-motogp-indonesian-gp/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/10/01/francesco-bagnaia-jorge-martin-impossible-to-beat-in-motogp-indonesian-gp/#respond Tue, 01 Oct 2024 13:30:00 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=180896 Francesco Bagnaia

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia has conceded that it was “impossible to beat” championship rival Jorge Martin to victory in the MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix.

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Francesco Bagnaia

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia has conceded that it was “impossible to beat” championship rival Jorge Martin to victory in the MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix.

Bagnaia was able to take three points out of Martin’s championship lead amid a surprise Sprint win on Saturday in Mandalika, but he struggled in the main race.

The Italian said he was “resigned to results” like his third place, but acknowledged that he had been “dreaming” for more after his triumph in the truncated encounter. 

“After the start of the weekend, I was resigned to results like this, but after yesterday no, because I was dreaming to be closer to Jorge,” Bagnaia told TNT Sports’ Gavin Emmett. 

 “But after the start I already understood it was impossible to beat him today. 

“I tried to be perfect and smooth with the tyre but I missed the start another time, the rear started to spin again and I lost positions. 

“Then I was just trying to be very careful on everything with the acceleration but I was struggling to overtake them. 

“I was with Bezz in front of me and with the 23 bike his acceleration was much more than mine for the rear grip that his bike had, so I was struggling a bit. 

“When I overtook Bezz it was much easier to overtake Franky because it was my same bike.

“In any case, considering the start, it’s a good place and we recovered three points in the championship from the start of the week so it’s good.” 

Bagnaia around the Indonesian track. Caption: Ducati Media House

There had been a chance that Bagnaia was going to earn an additional four points after second-placed finisher Pedro Acosta was investigated for a tyre pressure infringement.

Bagnaia highlighted that it would have made him feel “much better” about his weekend, but the GasGas rider was eventually cleared and allowed to keep second.

Bagnaia insists start problem won’t happen again

A persistent issue for the double reigning champion has been on the starts, with Bagnaia getting a terrible launch off the grid for the sixth consecutive race.

When asked if his problem in Indonesia could repeat themselves at Motegi, Bagnaia was quick to dismiss the idea: “No. Absolutely not.

“I think we missed a session here. I missed the qualifying for yellow flags and starting good every time like yesterday is not easy, but I tried. 

“Again I miss the start, and I think in Japan it will not happen again because I think it is, apart from the one yesterday, six starts I am struggling a lot. 

“It’s something that never happened to me before, so we have to see what to do to improve.”

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Jorge Martin admits MotoGP title pressure is ‘difficult to manage’ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/10/01/jorge-martin-admits-motogp-title-pressure-is-difficult-to-manage/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/10/01/jorge-martin-admits-motogp-title-pressure-is-difficult-to-manage/#respond Tue, 01 Oct 2024 08:41:14 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=180817 Jorge Martin speaks after dominant display in Indonesian MotoGP race

Pramac's Jorge Martin admitted that “it’s difficult to manage the pressure” of leading the championship after his Indonesian MotoGP victory.

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Jorge Martin speaks after dominant display in Indonesian MotoGP race

Pramac rider Jorge Martin has admitted that “it’s difficult to manage the pressure” of leading the MotoGP championship after his win in the Indonesia Grand Prix.

Martin crashed out of the lead of Saturday’s Sprint race but earned his redemption with an impressive display in the Sunday race at Mandalika, leading every lap.

“For sure, it was a tough one. It was a really nice weekend, I think except for this small crash I had in the sprint yesterday,” Martin told TNT Sports’ Gavin Emmett after the race. 

“Overall I felt super good, I’m so happy and today was difficult. 

“To finish was the target, I was trying to ride at 80% but when you are there, it’s impossible.

 “I was giving my hundred per cent, for sure trying to manage, always a little bit trying to be careful. 

“I had some ghosts in Lap 13 about last season, on that corner 11 so Pedro was catching again, but then I was able to retake that confidence and rebuild it. 

“I’m proud of the mental side, for sure it’s difficult to manage the pressure.

“Sometimes I do it better, sometimes a bit worse, so the important thing is to understand why and try to improve.

“So thanks to all the people who were awake today really early to watch this victory and hopefully I can give them some more.”

Martin ‘too optimistic’ in Indonesia Sprint

Martin conceded that the reason for his Turn 16 crash in the earlier truncated Sprint was being “too optimistic” on the opening lap of the race. 

He also admitted that his crash made him rethink how he approached the corner in the early stages of the race due to the difference in feeling between MotoGP’s Michelin tyres and the Pirelli rubber used in Moto2. 

“The important thing is to understand the situation of the race and the situation of the track at every moment,” said the Pramac rider. 

“Yesterday I was too optimistic, I wasn’t faster on that corner but I was too fast for that moment of the race. 

“I didn’t think yesterday about the Moto2 practice session with the Pirelli tyres so I was pushing like it was a normal lap, and then I crashed. 

“So today, for the first two, three laps I was able to be at my 50%, then I got to 80%, and then when Pecco was catching it was 150% until I had this two-second gap that I was able to manage.”

Martin believes he has been the best in 2024

Martin’s lead in the championship was cut into once more by Francesco Bagnaia, but the outcome is a lot better than what it could have been for the Spaniard. 

He saw his lead at the top of the Riders’ standings halved after the Sprint, but a dominant display in Sunday’s race saw him restore the advantage to 21 points.

“The important thing is that now we are in the lead, so to this moment we have been perfect, we have been the best out of all the riders on track,” said Martin. 

“It’s always difficult, I think Pecco has three championships on his back with a lot of experience, he’s able to be strong even on his bad days. 

“I will try to do the same, I will try to control him a bit and try to be close and if it’s possible, try to take more points. 

“The target on my side is to work on myself, to try to be my best version and the result that comes is not the target, the target is to be better every day.”

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Jorge Martin dominates to MotoGP Indonesia race victory https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/29/jorge-martin-dominates-to-motogp-indonesia-race-victory/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/29/jorge-martin-dominates-to-motogp-indonesia-race-victory/#respond Sun, 29 Sep 2024 07:58:45 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=180740

Jorge Martin ended a near four-month Grand Prix winless drought to win the MotoGP race in Indonesia around the Mandalika International Circuit. The Spanish rider dominated from flag to flag as rookie Pedro Acosta and Francesco Bagnaia joined the championship leader on the podium. Martin and Bagania’s Ducati team-mate Enea Bastianini got off to the […]

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Jorge Martin ended a near four-month Grand Prix winless drought to win the MotoGP race in Indonesia around the Mandalika International Circuit.

The Spanish rider dominated from flag to flag as rookie Pedro Acosta and Francesco Bagnaia joined the championship leader on the podium.

Martin and Bagania’s Ducati team-mate Enea Bastianini got off to the best possible start to claim first and second place, with Acosta running in third.

Chaos ensued on the first Lap as Alex Marquez, Aleix Espargaro, Jack Miller, and Luca Marini all crashed at Turn 3. Replays showed that Miller aboard his KTM machine, instigated the collision with the remaining riders.

Bagnaia’s dropped from fourth to sixth after Lap 1. The Italian rider showed that in the early stages, he wasn’t as competitive as he had been during the Sprint race on Saturday.

Acosta lunged past Bastianini to claim second spot on Lap 4, with Martin a distant 1.4s in front.

Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli and VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi both had their turn to overtake the factory Ducati rider on Lap 5 and 6, forcing Bastianini to settle for fifth as the race approached the halfway stage.

Gresini’s older brother Marc Marquez forced his way up the inside Bagnaia on Lap 6 before Bagnaia cut back on the inside, with Fabio Di Giannantonio swooping past the pair of them.

Elsewhere, the Yamaha and Honda riders Fabio Quartararo and Johann Zarco qualified in sixth and seventh. Still, the duo fell to 13th and 10th spots, showing more work needs to be done to compete with the European teams.

Di Giannantonio was still combating a collarbone injury before a crash at Turn 10 on Lap 9 from sixth place.

Brad Binder recovered well on his KTM, having qualified in 18th place, to put himself up to eighth by Lap 11, with the South African navigating his way up the grid in his usual manner having avoided being caught up in the events of Lap 1.

Marquez was forced to retire his bike halfway through Lap 12 because it set itself on fire. The Spaniard was sitting seventh before these events, and the six-time champion was no match for the GP24s and Bezzecchi in front.

The leading gap between Martin and Acosta was reduced from 1.4s to 0.8s, with the rookie aiming to earn that elusive first win in MotoGP.

Martin responded with the championship leader posting his best lap time of the race, but the gap between the Spanish duo hovered between 0.8s and 1.1s.

Bastianini and Morbidelli squabbled for third place, with the factory Ducati rider claiming the third spot before Morbidelli aggressively responded into the next turn.

Bastianini made the move stick at Turn 12, with just under 3s to make up to catch the leading duo.

The factory Ducati rider displayed rapid speed to cut the gap in half inside one and a half laps, with the Italian lapping half a second quicker than the leader, Martin.

Back-to-back lap times of 1.30.5’s saw him as close as 1.3s behind the back of Acosta, but a fast crash at Turn 1 ended his risky approach of going as far over the limit as possible.

Despite falling to 13th in the race’s early phases, Quartararo regained five places to put himself up to eighth, with Bastianini’s crash putting him up to seventh.

With only 12 classified riders left in the race with 6 Laps to go, nearly half of the grid had either retired due to bike problems or crashed out of proceedings.

Bagnaia capitalised on a Bezzecchi mistake to move up to fourth, before overtaking Morbidelli on Lap 23 to put himself back into podium contention.

With the chaos unfolding for the final podium place, Martin stretched his lead further to Acosta to 2.1s.

Tyre wear played its part in the final stages, with the top three stretching further and further apart, but no one was able to match Martin.

The Spaniard earned his first Grand Prix since Le Mans in May, extending the championship lead to 21 points.

Acosta delivered a strong second for GasGas, but he had to report to the stewards due to tyre pressures – luckily avoiding a penalty as the irregularity was caused by a leaking wheel rim.

Bagnaia rounded off the podium spots despite his poor start, with fellow VR46 Academy riders Morbidelli and Bezzecchi behind.

Maverick Vinales delivered a strong result for Aprilia to finish in sixth place, with Quartararo behind in seventh for Yamaha.

Binder and Zarco sealed eighth and ninth place, with Trackhouse Racing’s Raul Fernandez rounding off the top-10.

TLCR Honda’s Takaaki Nakagami and Yamaha’s Alex Rins finished 11th and 12th as the final two classified riders, but the former was later handed a 16-second time penalty for a tyre pressure infringement.

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Aron Canet establishes dominant Indonesian Moto2 victory https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/29/aron-canet-establishes-dominant-indonesian-moto2-victory/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/29/aron-canet-establishes-dominant-indonesian-moto2-victory/#respond Sun, 29 Sep 2024 06:12:27 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=180735 Aron Canet took a dominant win in Moto2

A dominant display from Fantic Racing's Aron Canet saw him take a six-second victory over the Moto2 field in Indonesia. 

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Aron Canet took a dominant win in Moto2

A dominant display from Fantic Racing’s Aron Canet saw him take a six-second victory over the Moto2 field in Indonesia

Canet led every lap from pole position to take the win over championship leader Ai Ogura, which puts the Spaniard up to third in the championship after a superior display. 

Poleman Canet got away well from the start, but MT Helmets’ Ogura got the jump from the clean side of the grid in third to take the lead into Turn 1. 

An incident in the opening corner with reigning Moto3 champion Jaume Masia and RW Racing’s Zonta van den Goorbergh started a chaotic first lap, while Turn 10 saw Somkiat Chantra pull out with an injury after Fermin Aldeguer ran over his foot, rookie Senna Agius crash and Tony Arbolino run wide.

Amidst the early chaos, Canet was able to retake the lead ahead of Ogura, with SpeedUp’s Alonso Lopez also finding his way through on the championship leader to get up to second. 

Aspar’s Jake Dixon looked to be struggling in the early stages of the race and crashed out of fifth, almost certainly putting an end to any small hopes of a championship bid despite rejoining.

Aldeguer had some early pace and was able to move ahead of Ogura into third and was looking to chase after his teammate Lopez for second.

Aldeguer was able to get on terms with his stablemate, but ran wide and lost momentum rejoining behind American Racing’s Joe Roberts in ninth. 

Ogura kept a steady pace while closing in on the leading SpeedUp bike of Lopez, and a block pass allowed the Japanese rider to claim second. 

Sergio Garcia looked to be having a decent weekend after losing his championship lead, but a crash out of 10th put an end to his race, which could compromise his Moto2 title chances.

The battle for the final podium place was heating up in the final stages, with Lopez leading Gresini’s Manuel Gonzalez, teammate Aldegeur and IntactGP’s Darryn Binder onto the last lap.

A pass from Aldeguer on Gonzalez allowed Lopez to take advantage and keep his podium position over the line. Lopez finished the race seven seconds behind eventual race winner Canet, and Ogura came home in second.

Aldeguer was able to take fourth on the final lap ahead of Binder who finished a season’s best fifth place. 

Roberts took sixth ahead of Aspar’s Izan Guevara in seventh, while MarcVDS’ Arbolino recovered from his first lap off to take eighth.

Gonzalez was forced off the track by Aldeguer on the final lap and could only manage ninth, as KTM Ajo’s Deniz Oncu rounded out the top 10. 

American Racing’s Marcos Ramirez took 11th narrowly ahead of RW Racing’s Barry Baltus in 12th.

Last weekend’s race winner Celestino Vietti recovered after running wide at Turn 16 to finish 13th, ahead of Yamaha Mastercamp’s Jeremy Alcoba in 14th and Gresini’s Albert Arenas came home in 15th.

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David Alonso earns Moto3 championship point after victory in Indonesia https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/29/david-alonso-earns-moto3-championship-point-after-victory-in-indonesia/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/29/david-alonso-earns-moto3-championship-point-after-victory-in-indonesia/#respond Sun, 29 Sep 2024 04:59:12 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=180731 David Alonso takes his ninth victory in the Moto3 class in 2024

Aspar’s David Alonso took a remarkable last-lap victory in Indonesia ahead of Leopard’s Adrian Fernandez to increase his dominance in the Moto3 standings. 

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David Alonso takes his ninth victory in the Moto3 class in 2024

Aspar’s David Alonso took a remarkable last-lap victory in Indonesia to increase his championship lead in the Moto3 standings. 

Alonso’s win over Leopard’s Adrian Fernandez means that the Colombian has a championship point to play in Motegi, and could win the title in Japan next weekend. 

MT Helmets’ Ivan Ortola got away well from pole position, but it was Honda Team Asia’s Taiyo Furusato who got the run down to the first corner and was able to overtake the Spanish rider going into Turn 1. 

Furusato was then the one giving the slipstream to his rivals and was overtaken by IntactGP’s Collin Veijer and Fernandez as they looked to clear away from the group with their different hard compound tyres. 

Poleman Ortola had to serve a double long lap penalty due to his third offence for riding extremely slowly on the racing line in qualifying. He took his penalty immediately to allow Alonso to chase after the top three. 

The top ten continued to follow each other closely in the early stages of the race, with very few changes of position occurring amongst the leading group of riders. 

Tatsuki Suzuki appeared to be the one with the pace with 10 laps to go, and pulled moves on Daniel Holgado and Alonso to move up to the podium positions. 

Veijer was looking to take advantage of the battles emerging behind him and attempted to pull a gap to those behind, but he lost the front on the change of direction at Turn 8 and crashed out of the lead of the race.

The Dutchman’s exit from the race allowed Fernandez to take control ahead of Holgado and Suzuki, who were jostling for second behind the new leader. 

With four laps to go, the group decided to up the pace and Fernandez was demoted to fourth after being overtaken by Furusato, Boe Motorsport’s David Munoz and Alonso. 

Furusato attempted to get back on terms with those ahead of him after losing places on the start/finish straight, but highsided out of the race at Turn 1 with three laps to go.

It was a group of six that were going for the win and a slipstream from five riders ahead of him allowed Sic58’s Luca Lunetta to take the lead, which he would lose to Fernandez one lap later. 

Championship leader Alonso made use of his experience fighting for wins on the final lap and once again took charge with a few corners of the race to go, and would take the chequered flag first, ahead of first-time podium finisher Fernandez in second and Munoz in third.  

Leopard’s Angel Piqueras crossed the line in fourth but ran off the track at the final corner, along with fifth-placed finisher Lunetta.

Holgado came home in sixth ahead of Suzuki and Boe Motorsport’s Joel Kelso. 

Ortola eventually took ninth despite having to serve a third long lap in the race for a shortcut, and LevelUp MTA’s Nicola Carraro rounded out the top 10. 

KTM Ajo rider Jose Antonio Rueda took 11th after serving two long lap penalties, ahead of Snipers’ Matteo Bertelle in 12th and MLav Racing’s Scott Ogden in 13th. 

Aspar’s Joel Esteban finished the race in 14th while LevelUp MTA’s Stefano Nepa rounded out the points in 15th despite taking three long lap penalties in the race.

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Jorge Martin: Crash out of Indonesian MotoGP Sprint lead “difficult to explain” https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/28/jorge-martin-crash-out-of-indonesian-motogp-sprint-lead-difficult-to-explain/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/28/jorge-martin-crash-out-of-indonesian-motogp-sprint-lead-difficult-to-explain/#respond Sat, 28 Sep 2024 14:30:00 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=180683 Martin rues missed opportunity after crashing from MotoGP Sprint lead

Pramac’s Jorge Martin has admitted his crash out of the lead of the Indonesian MotoGP Sprint race is “difficult to explain."

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Martin rues missed opportunity after crashing from MotoGP Sprint lead

Pramac’s Jorge Martin has admitted his crash out of the lead of the Indonesian MotoGP Sprint race is “difficult to explain.”

Martin looked to have the pace to cruise to victory after maintaining his lead from pole position, but a crash at Turn 16 on Lap 1 put an end to any chances of a win. 

The Spaniard was able to rejoin the race and fought back to 10th, but earned no points after handing the victory to championship rival Francesco Bagnaia.

“The crash is difficult to explain, I still don’t understand why I crashed,” Martin told TNT Sports’ Gavin Emmett.

“I took a look into the data. It seems like the lean angle, the speed and the line was correct, so it’s not good because I still didn’t understand why.”

“I will really look into it to understand why and for sure be more careful tomorrow at [Turn 16].”

“About the race, I feel really good, I feel competitive. Today was a nice lesson about overtaking from last to tenth, so I think it’s good for tomorrow also to get this feeling of overtaking.

“In case we need to, I have the tools.”

Martin won’t “change anything” for Sunday’s Indonesian MotoGP race

Despite his crash in the sprint, Martin has admitted he is unlikely to change his strategy going into the race on Sunday. 

The championship leader saw his advantage in the riders’ standings halved to just 12 points but believes if he changes his ways, there’s a chance he may not podium at Mandalika.

“Every crash is different. The good thing is that tomorrow I have another opportunity so I think the important thing is to take the positives and don’t change anything. 

“If I change strategy because of the crash I could even be out of the podium so I will try to win, try to do my best and that’s the way to forget about today.”

“I think it’s important to not stop in the past. It’s already a crash, it’s OK and now it’s time to look to tomorrow.

“The good thing is tomorrow I have another opportunity, maybe if I had one week out now it would be a really bad situation.

“Now I have the chance tomorrow at a track where I am super fast so let’s keep the head down for tomorrow.

“Let’s try to do a good job and try to be on the podium.”

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Francesco Bagnaia: Indonesian MotoGP Sprint victory ‘something incredible’ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/28/francesco-bagnaia-indonesian-motogp-sprint-victory-something-incredible/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/28/francesco-bagnaia-indonesian-motogp-sprint-victory-something-incredible/#respond Sat, 28 Sep 2024 11:15:00 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=180670 Francesco Bagnaia reacts to MotoGP sprint victory

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia says that his team “did something incredible” to pull off their MotoGP Sprint race victory in Indonesia.

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Francesco Bagnaia reacts to MotoGP sprint victory

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia says that his team “did something incredible” to pull off its MotoGP Sprint race victory in Indonesia

Bagnaia struggled throughout the three practice sessions in Mandalika but was able to take advantage of Jorge Martin’s crash from the lead to take Sprint glory ahead of Ducati teammate Enea Bastianini and Gresini’s Marc Marquez.

“I’m a believer, so I’m always believing of a win in both races,” Bagnaia told TNT Sports’ Gavin Emmett.

“It was not easy, my feeling throughout the weekend was not the best.

“We improved a lot this morning. During qualifying I understood something in the second sector and now I think we did something incredible, the pace was fantastic.

“Jorge crashed in the first lap but it was difficult also for me to open a gap because the pace was very similar to his one.”

Caption: Ducati Media House

Bagnaia “saw that [Martin] was losing the front” before Sprint crash

Bagnaia won the sprint race partly due to an error from main championship rival Martin, who saw the Pramac rider crash out of the lead.

Martin clearly had the pace advantage throughout the weekend over Bagnaia, but was overly ambitious going into Turn 16 on the first lap and lost the front, something which Bagnaia noticed when attempting to follow his rival.

“When I saw him entering the corner I said f*** he’s entering it super strong, I have to follow but as he entered I saw that he was losing the front,” said the Italian.

“It was very on the limit today, 63 degrees on the asphalt today, so I think it’s the hottest temperature we ever tried and it wasn’t easy on the front. 

“Tomorrow will be another day, but in terms of pace [Martin and Bastianini] still have something more, so for tomorrow I have to do another step in the morning. 

“For the Championship for sure it’s a great help but it won’t always be like this.”

Francesco Bagnaia: “I don’t like” topsy-turvy MotoGP title fight

Bagnaia admitted following the Sprint that he is not enjoying the nature of the title fight, with both himself and Martin seemingly taking turns making errors.

Despite winning today’s Sprint race, the Italian was also critical about the Michelin front tyre and suggested that it is impacting the championship. 

“I don’t like it. I would like to be more careful and not risk too much like we are doing with the front,” said Bagnaia.

“We are in a moment that the rear is working super good and the front is always a bit on the limit, so it’s easy to make mistakes, to crash and we saw it many times this season. 

“When you are leading with a normal pace you crash so you have to take care about it.”

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Francesco Bagnaia takes Indonesian MotoGP Sprint victory as Jorge Martin crashes https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/28/francesco-bagnaia-takes-indonesian-motogp-sprint-victory-as-jorge-martin-crashes/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/28/francesco-bagnaia-takes-indonesian-motogp-sprint-victory-as-jorge-martin-crashes/#respond Sat, 28 Sep 2024 07:41:47 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=180634

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia took a close-fought victory in the MotoGP Sprint in Mandalika as Jorge Martin crashed out of a first lap lead.

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Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia earned a close-fought victory in the MotoGP Sprint in Indonesia as Jorge Martin crashed out of a first-lap lead.

Bagnaia’s victory means the gap changes once more in the rider’s standings, as the Italian closes the gap to Martin to just 12 points. 

Martin made a good start from pole position, and made it into Turn 1 ahead of Bagnaia, who made a good start from fourth to get ahead of Pedro Acosta and Marco Bezzecchi.

Martin was using his pace advantage to break away from the pack, but a mistake at Turn 16 made him crash, though he would rejoin at the back of the field.

Marc Marquez made a great start from 12th on the grid and was chasing after Acosta and Bezzecchi for the podium. The fight between the pair allowed the Gresini rider to take advantage and get ahead of rookie Acosta.

The leading trio of Bagnaia, Bezzecchi and Marquez traded fastest laps but the gaps between them continued to remain the same, allowing Enea Bastianini a glimmer of hope of a podium.

Bezzecchi looked to have an advantage over Bagnaia, but was sucked into the dirty air of the GP24 and almost tagged the race leader as he ran wide, costing the VR46 rider his chance of a Sprint podium. 

Marquez appeared to be struggling to keep pace with the GP24 machines, and a few errors allowed Bastianini to get the run on the Gresini rider and overtake him for second.

It was Bagnaia who took the chequered flag to take the win ahead of teammate Bastianini in second, and Marc Marquez rounded out the podium in third. 

Bezzecchi recovered from his mistake to take fourth ahead of Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli in fifth and Pedro Acosta in sixth.

Maverick Vinales finished seventh as Johann Zarco took points for LCR Honda in eighth, with Fabio Di Giannantonio rounding out the Sprint points finishers in ninth.

Championship leader Martin recovered to take 10th but earned no points for his efforts ahead of KTM’s Jack Miller in 11th. 

Fabio Quartararo was forced backwards after contact with Morbidelli and finished 12th, ahead of Brad Binder in 13th. 

Alex Marquez recovered after a horrible crash in qualifying to take 14th, with Yamaha’s Alex Rins closely behind in 15th.

Aleix Espargaro’s difficult weekend continued as he could only manage 16th in the Sprint race, ahead of Honda duo Takaaki Nakagami in 17th and Luca Marini in 18th. 

Trackhouse’s Raul Fernandez crashed at the end of Lap 1 but rejoined and finished 19th and last of the finishers.

Repsol Honda’s Joan Mir crashed on Lap 2 and GasGas’ Augusto Fernandez exited the race on Lap 12 and were the only non-finishers of the Sprint. 

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Jorge Martin dominates his way to pole position for Indonesia MotoGP https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/28/jorge-martin-dominates-his-way-to-pole-position-for-indonesia-motogp/ https://www.motorsportweek.com/2024/09/28/jorge-martin-dominates-his-way-to-pole-position-for-indonesia-motogp/#respond Sat, 28 Sep 2024 03:49:46 +0000 https://www.motorsportweek.com/?p=180517

Jorge Martin made a big statement to the rest of the field, dominating his way to the MotoGP pole position at the Indonesia Grand Prix. Martin’s lap time of 1.29.088s was a cut above the rest, with Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta being his closest challenges. Martin clinched pole with himself and Bezzecchi separated by […]

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Jorge Martin made a big statement to the rest of the field, dominating his way to the MotoGP pole position at the Indonesia Grand Prix.

Martin’s lap time of 1.29.088s was a cut above the rest, with Marco Bezzecchi and Pedro Acosta being his closest challenges. Martin clinched pole with himself and Bezzecchi separated by 0.535s

Early on, Marc Marquez was shadowing behind the rear of Martin’s rapid Pramac on his first run before crashing at the fast Turn 15.

Yellow flags were called out to sort out the Gresini bike in the run-off, leaving championship protagonist rider Bagnaia with more work as his lap was called off.

Bagnaia’s second lap was then invalidated due to track limits, which surprised him when he returned to the pitlane.

Enea Bastianini crashed at Turn 16 not long after Marquez, but the crash was so minor he picked his Ducati back up again and continued with ease.

By this point, only half the riders had formulated a lap time, and both factory Ducati riders, Marquez and Morbidelli, had yet to post a lap time of their own.

Marquez crashed a second time in the session, around Turn 10, putting him out of the session altogether. When he attempted to get back onto his Gresini bike again, he fell off before later giving up and walking out of the circuit via the gravel trap.

Marco Bezzecchi had a minor crash himself at Turn 16, which impeded riders once more and affected the championship protagonists. However, both opted not to set another run, though the option was there.

Bezzecchi salvaged a second place despite that late crash as the VR46 Ducati rider displayed his best form at the best time.

With Martin, Bezzecchi and Acosta in the top three spots for both races, factory Ducati’s Bagnaia will start on the start of the second row in fourth on the dirty part of the track.

The Italian’s fourth will provide comfort after his first two runs were cancelled, with team-mate Enea Bastianini and former title rival Fabio Quartararo joining him on the second row.

Johann Zarco complied an impressive seventh place for LCR Honda after topping the first qualifying session, with Fabio Di Giannantonio starting eighth.

Despite topping first and third practice, Franco Morbidelli was no match to his team-mate Martin in qualifying, with the Italian more than a second adrift in ninth place.

Maverick Vinales and Raul Fernandez will occupy tenth and 11th on the grid, with the latter accompanying Zarco in the first qualifying session.

Marquez’s two crashes meant he could not set a time, meaning he starts back in 12th spot for both races.

Aleix Espargaro and Alex Marquez crashed in the dying embers of the first qualifying session while lapping quicker but will have to settle for 13th and 14th on the grid for both races.

Espargaro, who has had a torrid weekend thus far, crashed for the third time but nearly pulled it out of the bag to get into Q2.

Alex Rins will start in 15th for Yamaha, with both Yamaha riders showing the bike’s overall competitiveness around Indonesia.

Jack Miller will occupy 16th on the grid aboard the factory KTM, who edges out Luca Marini by 0.010s and finished 0.045s ahead of LCR Honda rider Taakaki Nakagami.

Brad Binder had bike problems on one of his runs, which prevented him from improving. This resulted in his qualifying 19th for both races. The exact problem has yet to be revealed.

Joan Mir finished as the final Honda rider with 20th place secured for Repsol Honda, with Augusto Fernandez starting in last place.

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