MotoGP News: Jorge Martin dominates Indonesian GP

Pramac’s Jorge Martin bounced back from a Sprint race crash to win a dramatic Indonesian MotoGP Grand Prix littered with crashes and a spectacular blown engine.

It was Martin’s first win since the French GP. ‘The Martinator’ looked unstoppable, claiming his first victory at the Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit after crashing out of the GP in 2022 and 2023. Martin crucially added 25 points in his Championship charge, extending his title advantage from 12 to 21 points after Saturday’s crash in the Sprint race

Martin led Tech3 rookie Pedro Acosta on the KTM and defending champion Francesco Bagnaia for the factory Ducati team.

“I am very happy,” said Martin, who was one of just 12 riders to finish the 27-lap race at the Mandalika resort circuit.

“This is not just a victory, because I think after what happened last season, after yesterday’s crash, to perform this way was quite difficult. I had a lot of… not doubts because I trust myself, but I thought I was crashing every corner.

“Being able to find that feeling during the race and to win with this gap was incredible. A lot of pressure from Pedro so I’m really happy. We are ready for what’s next.”

On a sunny and humid weekend on the Mandalika circuit, with air temperatures of 33°C and 55°C on the track, Martin started from pole position and got the hole shot into Turn 1 ahead of Ducati’s Enea Bastianini.

It wasn’t long before the drama began when factory KTM rider Jack Miller locked up his front tire and fell at Turn 3.

HUGE crash involving Jack Miller, A.Marquez, A.Espargaro & L.Marini 😱

📺 Watch the #IndonesianGP via @kayosports https://t.co/AwHlb9dt5r
📲 RACE CENTRE https://t.co/E46mniAznL#MotoGP pic.twitter.com/lyPZhubOOQ

— Fox Motorsport (@Fox_Motorsport) September 29, 2024

Bagnaia was slow initially, dropping to sixth by the end of Lap 1.

Acosta made quick work of Bastianini on Lap 3 and never relinquished his podium place.

Bastianini continued to concede places and dropped to fourth when Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli got past on Lap 5.

VR46 rider Fabio Di Giannantonio was the fifth rider to fall on Lap 9, sliding off the road at Turn 10.

After storming to third in Saturday’s Sprint, Gresini Racing’s Marc Marquez suffered a spectacular engine failure on lap 12 from seventh and pulled off. Marquez started in 12^th and was soon in seventh – setting sights on Bagnaia.

Factory Honda rider Joan Mir fell from his bike on Lap 13 at Turn 1 to become the seventh rider to retire.

With eight laps to go. Bastianini reset the fastest lap of the race as he dropped the gap to the lead under two seconds. Bastianini improved his own fastest lap time in the race from 1m30.906 to 1m30.539.

However, with just seven laps remaining, Bastianini fell at Turn 1 and gifted teammate Bagnaia third.

Fourth place was taken by Morbidelli, with the Italian showing a continuing to his impressive form. The #21 claimed the bragging rights over Bezzecchi, who rounded out the top five spots as Maverick Viñales crossed the line a further 4.558s behind in sixth and ended the day as the top Aprilia rider.

Meanwhile, Fabio Quartararo pulled off another stunning ride, finishing in seventh for the third GP in a row, beating Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) to the line.

Meanwhile, Johann Zarco landed a ninth-place finish on an incredible day for the CASTROL Honda LCR squad, with the Frenchman finishing ahead of Raul Fernandez, who took the final spot inside the top 10. Further back, Takaaki Nakagami (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) and Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) were the final finishers in 11th and 12th.

The next round of MotoGP is the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, which will take place on the Twin Ring Motegi October 4-6.

Results Indonesian Grand Prix – 27 Laps