Bez back to his best in Mandalika

Marco Bezzecchi returned to the top step in Indonesia as Aprilia made MotoGP history and Jorge Martin reclaimed the championship lead by just 2 points

Marco Bezzecchi delivered a much-needed response in Mandalika, claiming his first win since the Italian Grand Prix as Aprilia locked out the top four in a history-making MotoGP result. The victory also marked Italy’s 300th win in MotoGP, while Jorge Martin’s third place was enough to put him back in front in the World Championship after Marc Marquez finished sixth.

The Sunday result carried extra edge after the Saturday Sprint had already set the scene. Marc Marquez took victory in that race at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, a result few would have banked on given how the weekend began and his difficult record at Mandalika. Early chaos at Turn 1 eliminated both Bezzecchi and polesitter Raul Fernandez, blowing the race open and helping Marquez into a position to seize the win and the championship lead.

That opening-corner clash added a personal sting to the weekend too. Fernandez was furious with Bezzecchi afterwards, feeling the Italian had been overly aggressive, although replays appeared to show Bezzecchi himself having to avoid contact with Marquez in the concertina effect at Turn 1. Either way, the fallout left both Bezzecchi and Fernandez picking themselves up on Saturday and brought extra spice into Sunday’s Grand Prix.

Marquez made the most of the Sprint drama. Martin had taken the lead and looked in control before dropping time with four laps to go, allowing the Ducati rider through. Martin then ran wide again late on and slipped to fourth, while Ai Ogura and Fabio Di Giannantonio joined Marquez on the Sprint podium. By Saturday night, Marquez had turned an unpredictable day into a four-point championship lead.

Sunday told a different story. Fernandez again started at the front and this time survived the opening moments, holding station after fending off Bezzecchi into Turn 1. Unlike the Sprint, the Grand Prix got through the first corner without incident, despite Bezzecchi having a look up the inside in the battle for the holeshot.

Marc Marquez was quick away once more and settled into third in the early laps. Behind him, 2025 Indonesia winner Fermin Aldeguer initially made progress by getting ahead of Jorge Martin for fifth and then passing Fabio Di Giannantonio for fourth, but his charge ended at Turn 16 on Lap 2 when he crashed out.

Martin soon worked by Di Giannantonio and then attacked Marquez at Turn 10 to take over third. That move put him ahead of his title rival, while Pedro Acosta was beginning to build pressure from behind. Acosta set the fastest lap on Lap 4 and then muscled past Marquez at Turn 10 with a forceful late-braking move, surviving a front-end moment through Turn 11 to keep fourth.

At the front, Fernandez was doing enough to keep Bezzecchi behind for several laps, with Martin a little further back in third. Bezzecchi then began to reel the Trackhouse rider in, setting a fastest lap of 1:29.991 and trimming the margin to 0.4 seconds.

Further back, Marquez and Acosta traded places more than once. Marquez moved back ahead on Lap 13, with TV pictures suggesting Acosta may have had to let him through, hinting at tyre pressure trouble for the KTM rider. Two laps later the order flipped again at Turn 10, raising the possibility that Marquez was now facing the same problem.

The decisive move came on Lap 19, when Bezzecchi finally broke through and took the lead from Fernandez. It was the first lead change since the opening lap, and Bezzecchi immediately backed it up with another fastest lap of the Grand Prix. When Fernandez then ran slightly wide at Turn 1, the gap quickly opened.

That left Martin isolated in third, 2.4 seconds behind Fernandez and comfortably clear of the fight over fourth. In that battle, Ogura shoved Marc Marquez back to sixth at Turn 16 on Lap 21 before taking on Acosta. The KTM rider struck back at Turn 13, but Ogura completed the move again at Turn 16 and held on to secure fourth place and complete Aprilia’s first MotoGP 1-2-3-4 finish.

Out front, Bezzecchi had enough in hand to control the closing stages and cross the line 3.3 seconds clear, keeping his slim hopes alive heading to Phillip Island.

Fernandez’s second place was one of the toughest rides of the day. After crashing in the Sprint and sustaining two broken fingers, he still managed to stand on the podium on Sunday, while Martin extracted a vital 16 points in third to reclaim the championship lead. The gap between Martin and Marquez is now back to two points, exactly as it had been before the weekend.

Ogura’s ride to fourth completed Aprilia’s clean sweep, while Acosta was only a tenth behind in fifth after a fierce late battle. Marquez crossed the line in sixth, just over a second further back, with Alex Marquez seventh and Di Giannantonio eighth. Fabio Quartararo took ninth, Enea Bastianini finished 10th, and the remaining points went to Brad Binder in P12, Johann Zarco in P13, Franco Morbidelli in P14, and Alex Rins in P15.

Miller had approached Sunday with hopes of fighting for a points finish, encouraged by the more competitive pace he had shown throughout the weekend. However, a crash on lap five forced him to retire, bringing a premature end to what had looked like an opportunity to build on recent progress. It capped off a frustrating round for Pramac Yamaha, with teammate Razgatlioglu ruled out of Sucnday’s race after dislocating his shoulder in a heavy practice crash.

For Marquez, there was still plenty to take from the weekend even after surrendering the championship lead again on Sunday. Given his torrid history at Mandalika, leaving Indonesia unscathed and with a reasonable points haul will count as a solid outcome. But this weekend belonged to Bezzecchi and Aprilia, with Saturday’s bitterness giving way to a landmark Sunday in Indonesia.

Marco Bezzecchi – P1
“I’m happy with my race. I really wanted to leave Mandalika with a good result, and I’d been chasing this win since my injury at the Sachsenring. It felt really good. Clearly, with only five races left, the title is more lost than won. But that doesn’t change how I think or work, especially with my team. I’m not a rider who gives up. That’s who I am, and I’m happy to have met so many like-minded people along the way who I’m fortunate enough to work with.”

Jorge Martin – P3
“I’m happy with this podium because I achieved the best possible result. Marco and Raúl had something extra all weekend. I tried to close the gap, but they were faster. I’m still a little disappointed with yesterday’s result because I could have won, but I’m happy with today’s. As for the championship, the most important thing is to stay in the title fight and, above all, arrive in Valencia with a chance.”

Marc Márquez – P6
“This weekend went really well, and I’m very happy that I didn’t lose any points to Martín. It’s true that you always want more and that we struggled in the race today, but we expected that over the full race distance. We struggled, but at the same time, we managed the situation perfectly and came out swinging. I stayed focused on the present without thinking about the fact that I hadn’t finished a race here before today, so we can’t complain.”

Jack Miller – DNF
“It was pretty similar to Japan. I had a reasonably good feeling this morning, but as soon as we went out for the Sprint, the bike became almost unrideable. Something is not working as it should, whether it‘s related to the fuel map or something else. The engine behaviour is inconsistent, and we need to work harder to understand why.”

2026 INDONESIAN MOTOGP RESULTS

2026 MOTOGP CHAMPIONSHIP STANDINGS AFTER ROUND 17 OF 22