MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia wins an intense IndonesianGP

Francesco Bagnaia leads the Championship by 18 points after an incredible win.

After winning the MotoGP Mandalika Sprint the day before and claiming the Championship lead, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Ducati)  was hoping to do the double. It was a 27-lap race on Sunday with an important tyre choice to make.

Jorge Martin got a near-perfect start, holding the lead into turn one from Maverick Vinales. It was a dramatic handful of laps with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) diving down the inside and hitting the side of Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team). Binder would receive a long-lap penalty a couple of laps later.

Aleix Espargaro had a poor initial start to the race but would work his way through the field on soft tyres. His brother, Pol Espargaro had a crash of his own, losing the front and crashing at the tricky turn 16.

Marc Marquez’s (Repsol Honda Team) weekend went from bad to worse with the eight-time World Champion crashing out. His teammate, Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) would crash a couple of laps later after battling with Nakagami.

Marco Bezzecchi had a tough task in the 27-lap race after getting his collarbone plated a week before.

Aleix Espargaro’s soft-soft tyre combination looked to not be working with over 10 laps remaining, as the Spaniard lost ground. Fabio Quartararo was sitting inside the top five, trying to save his tyre to the end.

The gaps at the front began to stretch with a huge group battling for sixth positio. Brad Binder made contact with Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team) sending him into the gravel. Oliveira managed to stay on the Aprilia, but Binder was handing another long-lap penalty.

Championship flipped on its head

Jorge Martin lost the front at turn 11, losing the race and Championship lead on lap 15 of the Grand Prix.

After Martin crashed out of the race, Bagnaia took advantage, eventually taking the race lead from Vinales. Bagnaia looked to have the better tyre and extended a comfortable gap on the Aprilia rider.

The race went down to the final lap with a three-way fight for the lead and three different manufacturers. Quartararo looked to have the most tyre but struggled to get past the V4 machine.

The race went down to the final lap with a three-way fight for the lead and three different manufacturers. Quartararo looked to have the most tyre but struggled to get past the V4 machine.

As the chequered flag flew Francesco Bagnaia came across the line to win from 13th on the grid and ahead of Vinales in second. Quartararo did not manage to pass as he finished in third place and on the podium. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP) ended his race in fourth and as the top independent machine.

Bezzecchi rounded out the top five and finished ahead of Brad Binder who was sixth after completing two long lap penalties. His teammate Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) was behind seventh with Bastianini rounding out the top eight. Alex Rins(LCR Honda Castrol) was the top Honda with Aleix Espargaro dropping down to 10^th.

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Image credit: Ducati Media