Mandalika had set up a Saturday that seemed to belong to Aprilia. Raul Fernandez was on pole. Marco Bezzecchi was second, just 0.109 seconds behind. Jorge Martin was leading Marc Marquez in the World Championship.
Then the lights went out.
Fernandez and Bezzecchi crashed at Turn 1. Martin took the lead, built a gap and looked in control for much of the race. But with only a handful of laps remaining, he had to let Marquez through because of a front tyre pressure issue. Another mistake then cost him the podium. Marc Marquez crossed the finish line first, ahead of Ai Ogura and Fabio Di Giannantonio, who celebrated his 28th birthday with third place.
For the Italian riders, Saturday told two very different stories. Diggia returned to the podium. Bezzecchi lost everything within metres of the start. Bagnaia collected two points without finding the answers he was looking for.
And the championship changed hands. Marquez moved to 343 points, four ahead of Martin.
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Di Giannantonio gets a birthday podium worth more than the celebration in the Mandalika Sprint
The best Italian result of Saturday belongs to number 49.
Fabio Di Giannantonio started third and finished third. But between those two positions came a Sprint that was far less straightforward than the classification might suggest.
Diggia made an excellent start and immediately challenged for the lead. At the opening corner, there was contact with Marc Marquez. Fabio later explained that he felt the impact and found himself in first gear, hitting the limiter as he accelerated away. He lost ground. But he stayed in the fight.
Ahead of him, Martin and Marquez battled for the victory while Ogura remained in podium contention. Di Giannantonio was still close enough to take advantage when the race changed in the closing laps. Martin first had to let Marquez past because of his front tyre pressure. Then the Aprilia rider ran wide, losing another two positions. Di Giannantonio moved into third and crossed the line 0.835 seconds behind the winner.
Of course, Martin’s difficulties played a part in the final result. But to benefit from them, Diggia had to be there. And he had been competitive since qualifying, when he secured a front-row start. After a difficult Japanese Grand Prix, Mandalika finally gave him a result to match the work of the weekend. Seven points. A podium for VR46 at the home race of title sponsor Pertamina.
And a birthday worth remembering. The occasion adds the smile. The front row and the race itself explain the podium.
Bezzecchi: a Sprint that ended before it could begin
For Marco Bezzecchi, the Mandalika Sprint delivered a very different outcome. One of those weekends where everything appears to be coming together, right until the moment the result disappears.
Marco had been fast from Friday onwards. He qualified second, just over a tenth away from Fernandez’s pole, and had another potential fast lap interrupted by yellow flags. The front row was his. Then came Turn 1. Bezzecchi made a strong start, but the fight involving Di Giannantonio and Marquez changed the lines of the riders around him. Marc had to adjust his trajectory. Marco reacted by picking up his bike, before making contact with Fernandez on the outside.
Both riders crashed. Both were out. The two fastest riders in qualifying were gone before they could turn their pace into championship points.
For Bezzecchi, the zero hurts. Especially because Mandalika had offered a genuine opportunity to close the gap in the title fight. Instead, Marquez won, and Marco now sits 59 points behind the new championship leader. That is not a small margin with the season approaching its final stretch. But Saturday’s opening metres cannot be allowed to define the entire weekend.
Bezzecchi will start second again on Sunday. The Aprilia’s pace was there. His qualifying performance was there. The challenge is to turn that speed into a result.
He had the pace. On Saturday, he barely had the chance to turn it into a race.
Bagnaia takes two points, but Mandalika has not changed his story yet
Francesco Bagnaia finishes eighth after starting tenth. Two positions gained. Two championship points collected. And a finish after the rear tyre damage that brought his Japanese Sprint to an early end.
It is something. But it is not enough yet.
On Friday, Bagnaia had spoken about improvements under braking and on corner entry, while acknowledging that there was still plenty of work to do to understand the bike. Tenth in Practice was enough to secure direct access to Q2.
Saturday, however, did not provide a decisive answer. Marquez won on the other factory Ducati. Bagnaia finished 10.039 seconds behind. There was no retirement this time, and the points returned. But the distance between what Pecco is looking for and what he can currently deliver remains clear.
At Motegi, he finished eighth in Sunday’s Grand Prix after the tyre problems of Saturday. At Mandalika, he starts the weekend with another eighth place, this time in the Sprint. A result that limits the damage without changing the bigger picture.
Sunday will offer more laps and another opportunity. For now, the consistency Bagnaia has been searching for has yet to arrive.
Bastianini struggles as Morbidelli and Marini miss the points
Behind Bagnaia, the rest of the Italian field has little to take from Saturday.
Enea Bastianini finishes 11th, 16.834 seconds behind Marquez. Just one week ago in Japan, he had finished fourth twice, missing Sunday’s podium by only 0.078 seconds. Mandalika has brought a very different picture. That contrast says plenty about how difficult it remains to turn one strong weekend into consistent results. At Motegi, Enea had the speed to fight near the front. In Indonesia, he ends the Sprint outside the points.
Franco Morbidelli finishes 14th, having qualified 11th. It is his first race weekend since the announcement that he will join Aruba Ducati in WorldSBK in 2027. His future is now clear. But there is still a MotoGP season to finish, and Saturday offered neither points nor a significant recovery.
Luca Marini is 15th, also outside the top nine.
Different riders, different circumstances, but the same outcome: no points. For all three, Sunday becomes another opportunity to find something more.
Martin loses the lead, Marquez takes control of the championship
At the front, the Mandalika Sprint changed direction twice.
The first turning point came at Turn 1, with Fernandez and Bezzecchi out and Martin moving into the lead. Right after, the second came when Martin had to manage the pressure of his front tyre. The Aprilia rider explained that he needed to slow down and allow Marquez through to bring the pressure back within the permitted limits and avoid a penalty. When he tried to recover the lost ground, he ran wide and dropped two more places. A potential victory became fourth place.
Marquez, meanwhile, was in the right position to take advantage. He had not started on pole. He had not been the fastest rider in qualifying. And for much of the Sprint, it was Martin who controlled the race. But Marquez was the first rider to reach the chequered flag.
Ogura completed an important second place for Trackhouse, while Alex Marquez, Pedro Acosta and Fermin Aldeguer finished behind Martin. Bagnaia was eighth, with Fabio Quartararo ninth, taking the final Sprint point for Yamaha.
The biggest consequence, however, came in the World Championship standings.
Martin arrived at Mandalika two points ahead. Thirteen laps later, he was four points behind.
LINK
Leggi: Marc Marquez wins the Japanese Sprint as Bastianini loses the podium to track limits
Leggi: Franco Morbidelli moves to WorldSBK: he will replace Bulega at Aruba Ducati in 2027
Guarda: MotoGP, Sprint Race GP Indonesia: gli highlights da Mandalika
