Indonesian MotoGP, Mandalika – Sprint Race Results

*Rookie.

The 2023 MotoGP world championship has a new title leader after victory for Jorge Martin in the Mandalika Sprint was combined with a lowly eighth for Francesco Bagnaia, overturning the reigning champion’s slim pre-race advantage.

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Martin fought his way from sixth on the grid to take the lead from Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales with five laps remaining.

A struggling Vinales continued to fade and was overtaken by injured VR46 Ducati riders Luca Marini, who qualified on pole, and Marco Bezzecchi in the closing stages.

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Starting just 13th on the grid, his worst of the season, after failing to progress past Qualifying 1, reigning champion Bagnaia’s three-point lead over Martin was in obvious danger.

Bagnaia, whose recent braking issues seem to have continued despite previous claims of a fix, gained three early positions when Marc Marquez ed out, then Aleix Espargaro fell and brought down Brad Binder.

But the Italian was still only eighth by mid-distance, where he remained to the flag, crossing the line just behind Ducati team-mate Enea Bastianini.

Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo began the race from fourth, his equal-best qualifying of the season, and held an early podium place but couldn’t contain the charging Ducatis around him.

Repsol Honda’s Marc Marquez ed out moments after passing Aleix Espargaro for sixth on the opening lap. Espargaro, fastest on Friday, then lost the front while trying to pass Brad Binder into Turn 16, taking the KTM rider down with him. The FIM Stewards declared it had been a racing incident.

All riders chose the soft rear tyre in the 60-degree track temperature. Seven riders ran the hard front, including Bagnaia and Binder, with the rest on the soft option.

Jorge Martin came into the Sprint having outscored Bagnaia for the past seven races in a row.

The Mandalika circuit has been resurfaced (again) since last year’s race. There has been no prior MotoGP testing on the latest asphalt, while the extreme temperatures mean Michelin brings special heat-resistant stiffer construction rear tyres (as well as for the hard front).

Marco Bezzecchi’s title hopes took another blow when he fractured his collarbone in a training accident last weekend, the same injury suffered by team-mate Luca Marini when he hit the back of Bezzecchi at the start of the Indian Sprint.

Undergoing surgery on Sunday, Bezzecchi has joined team-mate Marini in a return to action this weekend.

Also attempting comebacks this weekend were LCR Honda’s Alex Rins (broken leg at Mugello), Lenovo Ducati’s Enea Bastianini (hand and ankle injuries at Catalunya) and Gresini Ducati’s Alex Marquez (fractured ribs in India). However, Alex Marquez withdrew due to the pain after Friday’s FP1.

Marini and Bastianini both have a long lap penalty waiting to be served on Sunday, for causing the multi-rider accidents that left them injured.