Marc Marquez won the sprint race of the Indonesian MotoGP Grand Prix and returned to the top of the general classification. The Ducati rider collected 343 points, while his main title rival Jorge Martin remained with 339 after fourth place. The difference between the two is four points.
Ai Ogura finished second and Fabio Di Giannantonio took third position. For the Italian, it was a special podium as he celebrated his 28th birthday with third place. Marquez received 12 points for the victory, Ogura took nine and Di Giannantonio – seven.
Martin led but lost the podium
The sprint started with an accident in the first corner, in which Raul Fernandez and Marco Bedzecki were eliminated. Martin, who started from fifth position, managed to lead the column, with Marquez remaining just behind him. The Spaniard on Aprilia gradually increased his lead to around 1.5 seconds.
However, Marquez kept his pace and began to close the gap. He took the lead on the ninth lap, after Martin's speed dropped. At the end of the race, Martin tried to regain the position, but went off the ideal trajectory and was overtaken successively by Ogura and Di Gianantonio. The Aprilia rider thus finished fourth.
“It was 12 decisive points here, in Mandalika, in this sprint“, Marquez told AutoHebdo after the finish. He described the race as difficult from the start and added that in the final part his pace improved. According to him, Martin probably had a problem with tire pressure.
The main race is on Sunday
Alex Marquez finished fifth, ahead of Pedro Acosta, who finished sixth after a Long Lap penalty for violating the track limits. Fermin Aldegerd remained seventh, Francesco Banaia took eighth place, and Fabio Quartararo took the last point with ninth position.
The main race for the Indonesian Grand Prix will be held on Sunday at 09:00 Bulgarian time. Marquez will start the race from fourth position, and Martin will start fifth. Raul Fernandez is in first starting position, followed by Marco Bedzeki and Fabio Di Gianantonio.
Sources: bta.bg, autohebdof1.com, as.com