Tag: Indonesian GP

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MotoGP: Martin Enjoys Faultless Win in Indonesia

Today’s race in Mandalika was tough for riders up and down the grid, with only 12 bikes finishing the race. However, the two riders at the front were able to control the field and keep their noses clean in an exceptional display of their abilities. 

After a difficult Saturday, Jorge Martin has enjoyed a perfect Sunday here in Mandalika. He started the race on pole, led every lap and controlled the whole race on his way to a brilliant win. He was untouchable with his nearest rival rarely able to get within a second of him.

On the cool-down lap and in parc ferme, he was celebrating as if he had won the title. After crashing during the sprint race, and crashing out of the lead of last year’s Indonesian GP, this was undoubtedly a display of relief from the Prima Pramac rider. This the first race win for Martin since Le Mans, and he will be keen to capitalise on this momentum as we now reach a crucial part of the season.

Image Credit: MotoGP on X

It was an equally fantastic day for rookie rider, Pedro Acosta, who came home in 2nd. He started the race in 3rd, claimed 2nd place on lap 3 and never looked back. As he crossed the line, he was instantly under investigation for a tyre pressure infringement. The team still celebrated in the park ferme and, two hours after the podium celebration, it was confirmed he would keep his 2nd place as no further action was needed.

Martin’s closest championship rival, Pecco Bagnaia, came home in 3rd. Whilst he wasn’t able to end the day ahead of Martin, he will still be pleased with this result. After a horrible start, with the bike bouncing off the grid and dropping him down to 6th, he eventually was able to find his rhythm and make his way back up to 3rd.

It was ultimately a race of attrition today with only 12 riders meeting the chequered flag.

This started on the first lap as Jack Miller hit the kerb on the inside, at the change of direction between turns 2 and 3. This sent his bike down and, as he slid across the track into the gravel, he took down with him Alex Marquez, Luca Marini and Aleix Espargaro. For Marquex and Espargaro, it was their fourth crash of the weekend – certainly a weekend to forget for them both.

It was also a retirement for yesterday’s podium-finisher, Marc Marquez, who wasn’t able to enjoy the same result today. On lap 12, his bike went “bang” and he pulled off the track with his Gresini machine on fire.

For several laps before this technical issue, Marquez had been enjoying a fantastic battle with VR46 rider, Fabio DiGiannantonio. The pair were dicing and fighting, overtaking each other on most corners in a brilliant but clean display of tough racing.

Enea Bastianini, who was setting a blistering pace and numerous fastest laps as he fought his way up into the podium positions, went down at turn 1 of lap 21. He ultimately overcooked it in the corner and the bike went down in the breaking zone.

Both Marquez and Bastianini were clearly disappointed as they made their way back to the garage. Could today’s difficult result be the end of their championship battle?

There were also DNF results for Fabio DiGiannantonio, who crashed out while under pressure from Marc Marquez at lap 9, Joan Mir, who crashed on lap 13, and Augusta Fernandez, who retired with a mechanical failure.

It was a more positive day for Franco Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi, who finished in 4th and 5t respectively. Both riders have had a tough season so far so will certainly enjoy today’s results and the battles they enjoyed along the way.

With action up and down the grid throughout the race, today’s race was a Mandalika classic!

TOP TEN
Image Credit: MotoGP on X
CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS
1 Jorge Martin 366 points
2 Pecco Bagnaia 345 points
3 Enea Bastianini 291 points
4 Marc Marquez 288 points
5 Pedro Acosta 181 points

Feature Image Credit: Jorge Martin on X

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MotoGP: Mayhem in Mandalika as Bagnaia Reclaims Championship Lead

A chaotic race in Indonesia has seen Pecco Bagnaia reclaim the championship lead that he lost after yesterday’s sprint race. Jorge Martin, his nearest rival, made a painful error which saw him crash out of the lead. With just 5 races left, this season is far from over!

It was both a costly error from Jorge Martin and a calculated ride from Pecco Bagnaia that has firmly placed today’s Indonesian GP in the history books. Having lost the championship lead for a day, Bagnaia was able to quickly reverse this as he sailed to a phenomenal victory. He made his way from 13th on the grid to win what might be the greatest race of his career.

Meanwhile, it was an undoubtedly difficult day for Martin. Having enjoyed all the momentum and accolades over the last few races, he crashed out of the lead at a crucial point in the season. The costly error came despite him sitting comfortably at the front of the field for the first 20 laps.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Bagnaia was joined on the podium by Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo who both enjoyed strong weekends but were frustrated to not finish higher after a close final few laps.

There was chaos up and down the field for most of the race, as we start our first of two triple-header weekends to round out the 2023 season.

AS IT HAPPENED

As the lights went out, Jorge Martin flew off the line and leapt from 6th to 1st before entering the first corner. It was a slower start for both Aprilia riders, as well as Luca Marini, who all slipped back down the field. This allowed both Brad Binder and Fabio Quartararo to make up some places on the first lap. However, Maverick Vinales was able to recover and slot in to 2nd.

There was chaos up and down the field across the opening laps of the race. This started with Aleix Espargaro going wide at turn 1. This let Pecco Bagnaia through but as Espargaro returned to the racing line, he nearly collected Marc Marquez.

Enea Bastianini also went wide, causing him to go off the track. He failed to rejoin in the correct way and was later given a long lap penalty as a result.

On lap 3, Binder gets out of shape at turn 10 and clatters in to the side of Marini, knocking him in to the gravel. Binder was just carrying too much speed in to the corner and wasn’t able to make it round. Like Bastianini, he also received a long lap penalty for this later on in the race.

On the same lap, Pol Espgargaro crashes at turn 15 and Franco Morbidelli heads in to the pits to retire.

Pecco Bagnaia and Aleix Espargaro then find themselves breezing past Quartararo to take 3rd and 4th respectively. Meanwhile the leading pair of Martin and Vinales were now 1.8 seconds ahead of the rest of the field.

As Binder takes his long lap penalty on lap 6, he drops from 5th to 10th. Espargaro, in 4th, is all over the back of Bagnaia, in 3rd, and forcing the Italian to ride defensively.

On lap 8, Marc Marquez is quickly overtaken by Jack Miller, Marco Bezzecchi and Brad Binder, shuffling him back from 7th to 10th. A few corners later, he then crashes at turn 13. It has been a difficult weekend for the Spaniard who is undoubtedly counting down to his move to Gresini for 2024.

 

This then sparks a 4-way battle for 6th place, with Miguel Oliveira, Miller, Bezzecchi, and Binder in 6th to 9th respectively. Miller is the first to make a move on the final corner of lap 9, followed by Bezzecchi on the first corner of lap 10.

On the following lap, Binder attempts to then make a move on Oliveira but bumps in to the side of him, knocks off his wings, and then sends them both wide. They are both able to rejoin but lose places at a crucial point in the race. Binder will receive his second long lap penalty of the race for this harsh move.

On lap 12, Augusto Fernandez crashes, followed by Joan Mir on the following lap.

Moments later, our race leader then crashes at turn 11. The bike slides out from under him and he is left looking down at his Prima Pramac machine in utter disbelief.

Image Credit: MotoGP

This promotes Vinales to 1st, with a 1.2 second gap to Bagnaia in 2nd. Quartararo, after recently making a move on Espargaro, is now promoted to 3rd.

On lap 16, Johann Zarco also crashes, again at turn 11. This leaves just 14 riders out on the track.

Meanwhile, at the front, Quartararo is closing in on Bagnaia who, in turn, is closing in on Vinales. We thought the chaos had calmed down but these three had other ideas.

At this point in the race, it is clear to see who opted for soft tires and who played it safe with the hard tires. Those on softs begin dropping back down the field as their tires struggle with the heat and soaring temperatures.

After closing the gap significantly over 4 laps, it was on lap 20 when Bagnaia was finally able to take control at the front of the race. He breezed past Vinales to take 1st place away from him.

For the final 7 laps of the race, the leading trio kept the pressure on each other. So much so that, by the final lap, there was barely a hair’s width between them. However, neither Vinales or Quartararo could make a move and they were forced to settle for 2nd and 3rd respectively.

FULL RESULTS
1st Pecco Bagnaia Ducati
2nd Maverick Vinales Aprilia
3rd Fabio Quartararo Yamaha
4th Fabio Gi Giannantonio Gresini
5th Marco Bezzecchi Mooney VR46
6th Brad Binder Red Bull KTM
7th Jack Miller Red Bull KTM
8th Enea Bastianini Ducati
9th Alex Rins LCR Honda
10th Aleix Espargaro Aprilia
11th Takaaki Nakagami LCR Honda
12th Miguel Oliveira CryptoDATA RNF
13th Raul Fernandez CryptoDATA RNF
14th Franco Morbidelli Yamaha

DNF = Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac), Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac), Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Tech 3), Joan Mir (Repsol Honda), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda), Luca Marini (Mooney VR46), Pol Espargaro (GASGAS Tech3).

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto2: Canet takes Second Pole of Season

Aron Canet starts from pole position in tomorrow’s Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika, for his second pole position of the year. The Spanish rider is joined by his countryman Manuel Gonzales and Czechia’s Filip Salac on the front row.

Third third-placed man in the championship, Jake Dixon, had to go through the first qualifying session after not setting fast enough time in the combined practice times.  He set the fastest time in the first part of the session, a 1:34.406, and this was fast enough for him to feel comfortable enough to come into the pits before the end of the session.

And he was right to do so as that time was enough for him to finish the session in first place. He was joined in Q2 by Alonso Lopez, Jeremy Alcoba, and Bo Bendsneyder.

The green light went out for Q2 a few minutes later and all the riders left their pit boxes to get a feel of the circuit once more.

Following the first timed runs, Gonzalez was at the top of the timesheets with a 1:34.282, from Somkitat Chantra who was fresh off a win in Japan, and Canet. The Pons Wegow Los40 rider then took over the top spot with a 1:34.155 at the halfway point.

No rider was able to beat this time set by Canet, even though many riders were finding time in sectors towards the end of the session, they could not string them together.

Championship leader Pedro Acosta starts in fourth place, ahead of Fermin Aldeguer and Chantra who join him on row two. Dixon heads up row three ahead of Sam Lowes and Zonta van der Goorbergh.  The rider in second place in the championship, Tony Arbolino, starts tomorrow’s race in tenth place.

Feature image credit: SoloMoto.es

2023 INDONESIAN MOTO2 GRAND PRIX, MANDALIKA – QUALIFYING RESULTS
POS RIDER NAT TEAM BIKE TIME
1 Aron Canet SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 1m 34.155s
2 Manuel Gonzalez SPA Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 1m 34.158s
3 Filip Salac CZE QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 1m 34.174s
4 Pedro Acosta SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 1m 34.198s
5 Fermín Aldeguer SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 1m 34.226s
6 Somkiat Chantra THA IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 1m 34.316s
7 Jake Dixon GBR Inde GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 1m 34.344s
8 Sam Lowes GBR Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 34.382s
9 Zonta Vd Goorbergh NED Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 1m 34.388s
10 Tony Arbolino ITA Elf Marc VDS Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 34.411s
11 Joe Roberts USA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 34.529s
12 Sergio Garcia SPA Pons Wegow Los40 (Kalex) 1m 34.573s
13 Bo Bendsneyder NED Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 1m 34.604s
14 Albert Arenas SPA Red Bull KTM Ajo (Kalex) 1m 34.613s
15 Jeremy Alcoba SPA QJMOTOR Gresini Moto2 (Kalex) 1m 34.774s
16 Dennis Foggia ITA Italtrans Racing Team (Kalex) 1m 34.788s
17 Marcos Ramirez SPA OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 1m 34.983s
18 Alonso Lopez SPA Beta Tools SpeedUp (Boscoscuro) 1m 35.084s
19 Ai Ogura JPN IDEMITSU Honda Team Asia (Kalex) 1m 34.732s
20 Darryn Binder RSA Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 1m 34.762s
21 Alex Escrig SPA Forward Team (Forward) 1m 34.781s
22 Alberto Surra ITA Forward Team (Forward) 1m 34.795s
23 Barry Baltus BEL Fieten Olie Racing GP (Kalex) 1m 34.984s
24 Taiga Hada JPN Pertamina Mandalika SAG Team (Kalex) 1m 35.105s
25 Lorenzo Baldassarri ITA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 1m 35.163s
26 Lukas Tulovic GER Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP (Kalex) 1m 35.293s
27 Izan Guevara SPA Inde GASGAS Aspar Team (Kalex) 1m 35.352s
28 Rory Skinner GBR OnlyFans American Racing (Kalex) 1m 35.412s
29 Kohta Nozane JPN Correos Prepago Yamaha VR46 (Kalex) 1m 35.437s
30 Mattia Casadei ITA Fantic Racing (Kalex) 1m 35.839s

 

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Moto3: Dominant Foggia Wins in Indonesia

Dennis Foggia took a dominant win at the Indonesian GP, putting him at the top of the championship standings after two races. Izan Guevara took second with Carlos Tatay in third after Andrea Migno crashed on the final lap.

Having taken the lead on the third lap of the race, Dennis Foggia on the Leopard Racing machine enjoyed a very dominant race as he quickly put clean air between himself and the rest of the field. After taking the race win in Indonesia he has also now put himself at the top of the Moto3 championship standings.

He was joined on the podium by Gaviota GASGAS rider, Izan Guevara, in second and CFMoto rider, Carlos Tatay, in third. Tatay also enjoyed a positive day as he recovered from a long lap penalty, incurred for taking a shortcut at turn nine. Our winner in Qatar, Andrea Migno was on track for a podium finish before crashing on the final lap of the race.

Image Credit: MotoGP

Before the race started, Diogo Moreira suffered a mechanical issue that forced him to give up second place on the grid and, instead, start at the back of the field. His day went from bad to worse as he then retired on lap eight.

As the race started, Sergio Garcia and his Gaviota GASGAS bike flew from seventh place on the grid to take an early lead. He took Foggia and Migno with him, as they also enjoyed strong race starts. Soon, Garcia had the lead stolen from him by Foggia on lap three.

Foggia was now leading Migno, Garcia and Guevara, as the four broke away from the rest of the pack. By lap seven, Foggia had put a gap of 1.5s between himself and Migno in second – this then increased to a 3.2s gap by lap nine and a 5.1s gap by lap ten. This consistent increase in pace was unsurprising after the times Foggia had posted in the warm-up session.

In the latter stages of the races, Foggia had flown off in to the distance and left a large group of riders all battling hard for a second-place finish. This group included Guevara who was 0.9s ahead in second, followed by Migno, Deniz Oncu, Jaume Masia, Daniel Holgado, Ayumu Sasaki and, as he eventually found his rhythm and caught up to the pack, Garcia.

Image Credit: MotoGP

However, disaster struck as Sasaki hit Migno in to turn 10 on the final lap of the race. The pair were both down and out, whilst Tatay also struggled with last lap nerves. As a result of Tatay going wide at turn 10, and Sasaki and Migno’s crash, Garcia was temporarily gifted the final podium position. That was until the penultimate corner when Tatay struck back to reclaim third.

Next to cross the line was Oncu followed by Xavier Artigas and Masia. The top ten was completed by Elia Bartolini, Holgado and Tatsuki Suzuki, all within a few tenths of each other.

Home hero Mario Aji on the Honda Team Asia bike eventually came home in 14th and was cheered through every corner.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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Moto3: Tatay secures maiden pole ahead of Indonesian GP

Ahead of tomorrow’s race, qualifying was topped by Carlos Tatay as he clinched his maiden pole. Lining up alongside him on the front row will be Diogo Moreira and Mario Aji.

As MotoGP returns to Indonesia for the first time in 25 years, qualifying saw the uprising of the rookies with two securing a front row start for tomorrow. One of these rookies is Indonesian rider, and home hero, Mario Aji.

However the honours of the day when to Carlos Tatay, who has secured his maiden pole position in his fourth year in Moto3. It is also the first pole position for the new CFMoto Racing team. The Spanish rider set a time of 1:41.232s with six minutes left of Q2.

Just 0.083s behind Tatay was the top rookie of the day, Diogo Moreira. The Brazilian also took the top rookie award when the chequered flag fell in Qatar last weekend, finishing the race in sixth.

Rounding out the front row for the start of tomorrow’s race will be Indonesian rider and home hero, Aji. The Honda Team Asia rider came through from Q1 to set the early pace in Q2.

Mario Aji; Image Credit: MotoGP

Xavier Artigas is in fourth thanks to excellent teamwork with Tatay. Andrea Migno, who set the fastest times in FP2 and FP3, will start the race in fifth. Having won the race in Qatar, he will be looking for a similar result this weekend.

The top six riders were covered by less than half a second, with Dennis Foggia just 0.442s off the polesitter. He claimed sixth despite crashing at turn two.

Sergio Garcia also took a tumble, crashing in Q1. However, he managed to make it in to Q2 and secured seventh place. This comes a week after his podium finish in Qatar.

Garcia’s teammate took eighth with Deniz Oncu and Ayumu Sasaki rounding out the top ten.

John McPhee isn’t in action this weekend after fracturing two vertebrae in a training accident.

Moto3’s race will commence at 12pm (GMT+8) and you can stay up to date with all the action here at Crew On Two.

Feature Image Credit: MotoGP

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