MANDALIKA (Reuters) -Pramac Racing’s Jorge Martin led a crash-hit Indonesia Grand Prix in Mandalika from start to finish on Sunday, to win his third race of the season and extend to 21 points his lead over reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia.
Pole-sitter Martin rocketed off the line in hot and humid conditions at the Mandalika International Street Circuit to take the lead going into turn one and stayed there throughout the race, despite having Pedro Acosta breathing down his neck.
The jubilant 26-year-old punched the air after his win, which comes a year after he crashed at the 2023 Indonesia GP to throw away his lead in the championship before ultimately finishing runner-up to Bagnaia.
“I am very happy. This is not just any victory because I think after all that happened last season, after yesterday’s crash, to perform this way was quite difficult,” said Martin, who also crashed in Saturday’s sprint.
“I had a lot of – not doubts – because I trust in myself, but, you know, I thought about crashing every corner. Being able to find that feeling during the race and to win today with this gap was incredible.
“A lot of pressure from Pedro, so really happy. I think we are ready for the next.”
The Spaniard leads the championship with 366 points, 21 ahead of Bagnaia (345) in second place.
Bagnaia, looking to win eight races in a season for the first time in his MotoGP career, qualified fourth on the grid and won the sprint on Saturday to cut his gap with Martin to 12 points.
The Italian Ducati rider had a terrible start, staying stuck in fourth after a slow launch, before drifting wide and being overtaken by Franco Morbidelli and Marco Bezzecchi to drop down into sixth in the second lap.
Bagnaia moved up to fifth after teammate Enea Bastianini crashed out late in the race and then took advantage of errors by Bezzecchi and Morbidelli to clinch a spot on the podium and limit the damage dealt to him by Martin’s win.
“A very, very tough race. I struggled a lot at the start because, again, in the start I lost position,” Bagnaia said.
“We have to check because it’s the fifth start in a row that we are struggling. So we have to improve in that area because with the start you can win a race.
“I struggled a bit at the start and then when I was behind (Bezzecchi and Morbidelli), I struggled to overtake them. As soon as I got in front, I was able to push again, but I was too late.”
Bastianini’s crash has all but ended the Italian’s dreams of an outside victory, putting him 54 points behind Bagnaia in the driver’s standings.
The woe continued for six-times MotoGP champion Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing), who began in the fourth row after crashing twice during qualifying, as he suffered technical issues midway through the race and was forced to leap off his flaming bike.
The race was yellow-flagged in the first lap after Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM team) locked up and slipped, also taking Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia), Luca Marini (Repsol Honda) and Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing).
(Reporting by Aadi Nair in Nashik, India; Editing by William Mallard and Clarence Fernandez)
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