Marc Marquez wins wild Indonesian GP sprint after late Jorge Martin drama
Marc Marquez won a crazy Mandalika sprint to retake the championship lead
Ducati’s Marc Marquez has taken the lead in the championship after winning a wild MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix sprint following late drama for Jorge Martin.
Jorge Martin looked on course to claim a dominant victory in the half-distance Saturday race at Mandalika, after seizing the lead on the opening lap.
But with five laps to go, he gave the lead to Marc Marquez due to an apparent tyre pressure issue, before making a mistake on the penultimate tour that dropped him to fourth.
Marc Marquez was left to claim his 23rd sprint victory by just over 0.5s from Trackhouse Aprilia’s Ai Ogura, which now puts him four points clear of Martin in the standings.
A crash for Marco Bezzecchi at Turn 1 on the opening lap with polesitter Raul Fernandez has dropped him 59 points back in the standings now.
The drama in the 13-lap sprint unfolded from the off, as VR46’s Fabio Di Giannantonio, Marquez, Bezzecchi and Fernandez went four-wide into the first corner.
Di Giannantonio tried to take the lead on the extreme inside line, but ran slightly wide and forced Marquez to check up.
This, in turn, led Bezzecchi to pick up his bike, leaving Trackhouse rider Fernandez with nowhere to go.
The Aprilia pair collided and crashed out, while Martin came through the chaos to jump from fifth on the grid to take the lead.
After just a few laps, Martin’s lead was up to 0.8s and was in danger of running away from the rest of the pack.
Well over a second clear with five laps to go, however, he slowed to let Marquez come through as he apparently faced a warning for a potential tyre pressure penalty.
Martin tried to remount the pressure on Marquez in the closing stages, but made a mistake at the penultimate corner with two laps to go and ran wide.
Marquez was free to claim his eighth sprint win of the season, with Ogura upholding Trackhouse and Aprilia honours in second.
Di Giannantonio completed the podium, while Martin was fourth.
Alex Marquez was fifth on the Gresini Ducati, with KTM’s Pedro Acosta sixth after being given a long lap penalty for exceeding track limits.
Fermin Aldeguer was seventh on the sister Gresini Ducati, while the final points went to Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.
Despite suffering a dislocated shoulder this morning, Pramac’s Toprak Razgatlioglu made it to the chequered flag in 19th ahead of Honda stand-in Aleix Espargaro.
