The weekend of the Indonesia Grand Prix offered two completely different races from the same starting grid. Coinciding with the announcement from MotoGP about the introduction of a second qualifying session at each Grand Prix starting in 2027, the results left all teams with a lot to reflect on.
Both brands, Ducati and Aprilia, achieved one victory each in Mandalika, thus keeping the championship fight tightly contested ahead of the next appointment in Australia.
The contrasting results between the two races make it difficult to determine who came out on top and who on the bottom during the weekend. Nevertheless, here are our winners and losers from the Indonesia Grand Prix of MotoGP.
Winner and loser: Aprilia
The Indonesia Grand Prix marked the first time Aprilia occupied all four top positions in a MotoGP race. The Noale team had completed the podium multiple times this year, but everything had to align to achieve a historic result in Mandalika.
Each Aprilia rider contributed to the great success. Marco Bezzecchi achieved his best result in months with the victory, Raul Fernandez put in a heroic performance despite having a broken finger, Jorge Martin passed Marc Marquez to reach the podium, and Ai Ogura showcased his race pace at last, moving from seventh to fourth place. Mandalika was an ideal circuit for the RS-GP, and the Aprilia riders took advantage of the opportunity.
However, Aprilia’s weekend cannot be assessed solely by Sunday’s result, as the sprint race was a nightmare. The collision between Fernandez and Bezzecchi on the first lap was a significant setback. Additionally, Fernandez broke his index finger that he uses to brake, although he later criticized Bezzecchi in front of the press. This situation is likely to complicate the relationship between the two riders who will remain with the team next season.
Furthermore, Martin had to relinquish the lead due to a tire pressure issue and made an error in attempting to regain position against Marquez.
Overall, Aprilia can be satisfied with having obtained a 12-point advantage over Ducati in the constructors’ championship, but it is also aware that its historic result on Sunday came after a sprint race in which they lost a potential victory.
Loser: Tire pressure rule
One of the most unpopular rules in MotoGP was once again in the spotlight as several prominent riders struggled to keep their tire pressure above the minimum limit during a hot and sunny weekend in Mandalika.
On Saturday, Martin lost a nearly certain victory when he had to give up an advantage of more than 1.5 seconds due to an alert from his panel regarding low tire pressure. Ironically, this led to an unexpected twist in the race, adding excitement to the championship battle between Aprilia and Ducati.
However, what happened on Sunday left a bitter taste for spectators. Marquez and Pedro Acosta spent more than a third of the race swapping positions to try to comply with the tire pressure rule during the prescribed laps. The way they let each other through resulted in a disappointing spectacle, and Acosta even stated that this rule made the MotoGP riders look like “asses.”
Another example was Maverick Vinales, who received a penalty despite running at the back of the grid, showing how a rule designed to avoid sporting advantages can turn out to be unnecessarily punitive.
It remains to be seen if riders will have to resort to desperate tactics to maintain tire pressure when Pirelli replaces Michelin as the official supplier in 2027.
Winner: Marc Marquez
Marc Marquez arrived in Indonesia with a considerable weight on his shoulders, given his past difficulties in Mandalika. Even Ducati admitted they were prepared to lose between 10 and 12 points on a weekend where they did not expect to compete against the Aprilias.
However, Marquez quickly realized that Ducati was not as far behind Aprilia as he feared, and found an opportunity to fight for a good result. He knew how to capitalize on his advantage during qualifying, following Martin’s pace to block his timing.
The start of the sprint race was not Marquez’s fault, who surged forward and was in the right place at the right time when Martin had tire issues. Moreover, when Martin attempted to regain position, Marquez held firm, forcing his rival to make an error and achieving a victory that seemed unlikely before the weekend.
On Sunday, the situation normalized, and the reigning champion could not finish in the top 5. Despite this, with the sprint victory and limiting his losses in the main race, he secured valuable points that strengthen his aspiration to win a tenth world title.
Loser: Honda
This has undoubtedly been Honda’s worst performance of the year. In previous rounds, the team had always managed to qualify at least one bike in the top ten. But in Mandalika, the performance was so poor that it was even surprising that they managed to score points.
All Honda riders struggled to make the RC213V work, expressing their perplexity at the lack of speed. The situation worsened with crashes from Diogo Moreira and Johann Zarco, which demonstrated the difficulty of controlling the bike.
On Saturday, Honda’s best qualifying was Zarco’s, who finished 17 seconds behind the leader in a 13-lap race.
Only on Sunday did Honda find some progress, as Luca Marini had a good start, qualifying ninth during the early laps, but a severe tire drop left him 12th at the end.
Marini couldn’t help but compare Honda’s performance with its previous showing at a circuit where they had traditionally been competitive. Last year, he finished fifth, just 1.2 seconds off the podium, while this year he was half a second slower during qualifying despite the pole time being virtually the same.
Additionally, Aleix Espargaro had to withdraw from the Sunday race to ensure he was fit for this week’s 850cc test in Malaysia.
Losers: Fermin Aldeguer and Toprak Razgatlioglu
The weekend of Fermin Aldeguer, winner of last year’s Indonesia GP, was one to forget. The Gresini rider did not have the pace of his Ducati teammates and was the third slowest during Saturday’s race.
Things worsened on Sunday when he fell in the last corner during the second lap, marking his fourth fall of the weekend and causing a fracture in the metacarpal bone of his right hand. Aldeguer will need to return to Spain for surgery, with little time to recover before the Australian Grand Prix, especially considering he was already dealing with a prior leg injury.
On the other hand, Toprak Razgatlioglu dislocated his right shoulder in a spectacular fall on Saturday morning, becoming another victim of the difficult layout of Mandalika. Surprisingly, he managed to reset the bone and finished both the qualifying and the sprint race. However, the effects of his accident worsened on Sunday, forcing him to retire after just eight laps.
The Pramac rider will return to Italy this Monday for a new medical evaluation to assess the next steps in his recovery.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
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