Aprilia’s Marco Bezzecchi scored a sensational MotoGP sprint victory at Mandalika after fighting his way back from a dreadful start.
The class of the field all weekend, Bezzecchi made life difficult for himself when he battled to get off the line from pole position. He was down in eighth place midway through the first lap as Fermin Aldeguer grabbed the early lead from Pedro Acosta and Trackhouse Aprilia rider Raul Fernandez.
While Bezzecchi began to work his way back to the sharp end of the field, Acosta could only hang on in second until lap five, when he dropped the factory KTM into the gravel trap.
Bezzecchi battled for some time to get past Luca Marini (Honda) for fourth place, only clearing his countryman at the same moment Acosta fell. That’s when Bezzecchi, now suddenly third, really got the hammer down and immediately reeled off a pair of fastest laps.
He hauled in Fernandez quickly enough, passing him on lap eight. That left him five laps in which to catch and pass Aldeguer, who had a lead of more than two seconds at that point.
Fermin Aldeguer, Gresini Racing
Photo by: Robertus Pudyanto / Getty Images
This proved no problem for Bezzecchi, who calmly hunted down the Gresini Ducati and barged past him at Turn 10 on the final lap. Aldeguer made a spirited attempt to fight back at the next corner, but the more experienced Bezzecchi was able to hold his new lead to the flag.
Fernandez completed a solid ride to take a podium ahead of Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) and the factory Hondas of Joan Mir and Marini.
Things weren’t much better for his factory Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez, though the new world champion did show some fight later in the race as he battled with the VR46 Ducati pair of Franco Morbidelli and Fabio Di Giannantonio, eventually winning the fight to take seventh.
Francesco Bagnaia was back in familiar 2025 territory. He was woefully off the pace and came home last of the finishers, almost 30 seconds after Bezzecchi.
MotoGP Indonesian GP – Sprint results:
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– The Autosport.com Team
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