The Indonesian GP has been as unpredictable and complicated as expected. A fast, dirty and complicated track that has put all the drivers on the grid on the ropes, including the championship leader Jorge Martín, who for a moment saw his position in the provisional standings in danger.
The man from Madrid has been intractable all weekend. He achieved pole position and in the Sprint Race he took the lead with a higher pace than the rest of the drivers, until he crashed at the start of the race. Bagnaia did not miss the opportunity and by winning the race he reduced the distance between them to 12 points.
In a championship in which both have accumulated several zeros and Bagnaia has made more errors, Martín’s failure once again gave Pecco air. A Bagnaia who climbed to the podium on Saturday accompanied by Enea Bastianini and Marc Márquez, the other two contenders (in the distance) for the title.
FALL OF JORGE MARTÍN!
Leading the race, after a very dominant pole position… But he crashed on the first lap!#IndonesianGP 🇮🇩 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/K3Ho7PpgRq
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) September 28, 2024
What was clear is that Mandalika was Ducati territory and that mistakes were going to pay dearly. This was already expected before the training sessions for the Indonesian GP and this happened in both free practice and qualifying and, subsequently, in both races. In fact, the falls conditioned the performance of different riders and, in addition to the aforementioned Martín, they took their toll on Marc Márquez during the qualifier and, especially, on Miguel Ángel Oliveira, who will have to undergo surgery for a fracture in his wrist despite the fact that the fall It was due to a failure in the motorcycle’s electronics.
But returning to the sporting level and, especially, to Sunday’s race. It was shown that Martín was capable of recovering to get back to the front of the race, set the pace and from there cement a victory that would allow him to minimize the damage from Sunday’s mistake. Taking into account the situation, it is clear that Martín is pushing with everything in the direction of the championship just like Bagnaia, and when that happens and he goes faster and faster these errors can arrive.
Jack Miller crashed at the start of the race and took three drivers ahead of him 😰
Álex Márquez, Aleix Espargaró and Luca Marini were involved in the accident#IndonesianGP 🇮🇩 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/g56THc43ql
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) September 29, 2024
Martín masterfully saves the furniture at the Indonesian GP
As we said, Jorge has been able to withstand the pressure not only from Saturday’s failure, but he has also recovered from the other major unforeseen event at Misano. He has lost many points in those races and, however, it does not seem that they are hindering him and he goes out onto the track with the conviction that he can win the world championship.
Perhaps that is why he continues to lead the general classification and, also why, he was able to set a pace that only Pedro Acosta could follow closely at a certain point (who was investigated for the pressures of his tires although the situation did not get any worse) and then Pecco Bagnaia in the distance and after a start to the race in which he did not seem to be comfortable. And it is no wonder because there were many casualties on Sunday. A total of nine drivers were unable to finish the race and that highlights the complexity of a dirty track and high temperature.
THE SHARK IS COMING!
Pedro Acosta overtakes Bastianini for second place 👀🔥#IndonesianGP 🇮🇩 #MotoGP 🏁 pic.twitter.com/BqEkiGCIxx
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) September 29, 2024
In fact, Bagnaia could not really get close to Martín and Acosta, although he was able to beat Morbidelli and Bezzecchi who were also protagonists of the group race fighting for third place on the podium. A place that Bastianini was also fighting for and that seemed to have him pretty much on track until he fell to the ground, just as it had happened to Fabio Di Giannantonio before. Another of the big casualties of the podium contenders was Marc Márquez, although in the case of the Spaniard due to an engine problem that caused his Ducati to end up on fire.
But if there are great losers from this Indonesian Grand Prix, there are also great beneficiaries and Fabio Quartararo and Yamaha are one of them. For the second consecutive GP he has been solid and also starring in a comeback that took him to seventh place, right after a Maverick Viñales who was riding in no man’s land. This seventh place may not sound like a great result, but it seems that Iwata’s firm is finding its way.
Honda’s progression is less clear, although it also seems to be consolidating its recovery with Johann Zarco ninth and, more importantly, 15 seconds behind the leader and battling with Binder’s KTM who was eighth. The top 10 was closed by Raúl Fernández although far from Zarco.
The good thing is that for both Honda and Yamaha they arrive at their best moment at their home race, which will be held next weekend in Motegi and there we will have to see if they can continue taking steps forward.
