MotoGP News: Martin chokes, Bagnaia wins Indonesia Sprint

After point leader Jorge Martin crashed out of the lead, in the Tissot Sprint at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, factory Ducati riders Francesco Bagnaia (pictured above) and Enea Bastianini finished 1-2.

Marc Marquez took the final spot on the podium on his Gresini Ducati after a close battle at the top.

As a result of his crash, Martin’s point lead has been reduced to just 12 points ahead of Sunday’s feature race.

Martin made a dream launch to the Sprint, charging to the front ahead of title rival Bagnaia, who braved the outside line on the run to Turn 1. The #89 pulled the pin on the opening lap, while Marc Marquez made ground at the start after qualifying from 12^th on the grid.

Everything unfolded at the end of Lap 1, with Martin crashing out of the lead at the tricky Turn 16. The Championship leader remounted, setting sights on recovering some points on Saturday, with his closest rival, Bagnaia, now promoted into P1.

The battle for the podium began, with Marco Bezzecchi, Acosta and Marc Marquez starting their duel. The #93 soon made a move stick on Acosta on Lap 3, entering the top three positions as Acosta was soon under threat from Bastianini – seeing the rookie drop back to fifth.

It was a red-hot pace at the front, with the fastest lap soon placed in the hands of Bezzecchi before Bezzecchi had a huge moment on Lap 7, narrowly avoiding the reigning World Champion and dropping #72 to fourth.

Martin continued his recovering ride, launching into the top 15 and then the top 12, soon entering the top 10 after a move on Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing).

Bastianini would edge closer to Marc Marquez in the closing laps, setting sights on a move with three laps remaining. ‘The Beast’ looked for an opportunity on Lap 12, making the move stick at Turn 10. The Italian was in second, with Bagnaia a further eight-tenths up the road.

On the final lap, Bagnaia kept his cool, returning to Sprint glory in another twist to an enthralling season, with the #1 crossing the line 0.107s ahead of the chasing Bastianini. It was an impressive final lap from Bastianini, beating Marc Marquez in third. The #93 added a further seven points to his Championship tally, which could prove to be crucial at the end of the season.

Behind the leading trio was Bezzecchi, who showed an encouraging pace in the early stages but was unable to recover ground that he lost after his mistake. The #72 had a comfortable advantage over Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing), with the Italian able to leapfrog Acosta, who finished down in sixth. The rookie crossed the line with less than half a second advantage over Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing).

2024 Indonesian MotoGP, Mandalika – Sprint Race Results

* Rookie