Twenty-seven laps in blistering heat. Nineteen riders on the Mandalika circuit. But it was the rookie Fermín Aldeguer who was victorious in the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia. The #54 became the second youngest MotoGP winner, joined on the podium by his BK8 Gresini Racing teammate Álex Márquez. The #73 finished in third and claimed the prize of 2025 Best Independent Team Rider. Pedro Acosta held on to split the two riders and finish in second. Read on for the full breakdown of the mixed bag that was the Indonesian GP.
Housekeeping on the Grid in Sprint Aftermath
After picking up his first podium in Saturday’s Tissot Sprint, Raúl Fernández lined up on the front row of the grid with hopes of nabbing his second. But he still had Aldeguer and Marco Bezzecchi to contend with once again. Several riders further down the grid, including Luca Marini, were looking for a better race today. The #10 had finished inside the points, but was given an eight-second time penalty post-Sprint for a tyre pressure infringement.
Marc Márquez was not on the Sprint podium for the first time this year, as the 2025 MotoGP World Champion finished in sixth place after serving a long lap penalty for contact with Álex Rins. Acosta looked to correct mistakes after he crashed in the hard braking zone of Turn 1 in the Tissot Sprint. Fabio Quartararo and Miguel Oliveira took a gamble on the grid, opting for the soft rear tyre over the preferred medium.
Drama and Disappointment for Key Race Favourites in the Opening Laps
Bezzecchi had another rough start off the line, tumbling down the order. It went from bad to worse as he collided with the back of M.Márquez’s Ducati Lenovo Team machine in Sector 2 on the first lap. The incident would be reviewed after the race, while Acosta, Marini, and Aldeguer were the new front pack. Joan Mir crashed a lap later, taking his bike back to the pit lane and retiring from the race.
Rins went in too hot, losing his position to Fernández as Aldeguer made a daring overtake on Marini. There was discussion that perhaps Acosta had jump started, but with no penalty popping up the #37 was in the clear to fend off Aldeguer. The next Ducati machine behind him was his BK8 Gresing Racing teammate Á.Márquez in seventh place. In last place, Francesco Bagnaia fell off the side of his bike, ending what has been a dismal weekend for the Ducati Lenovo Team, coming down from a massive high at the previous race in Motegi.
Daring Moves as Some Risks Pay Off and Others Fall Short
As the race reached the halfway point, Aldeguer was riding off into the distance of the Lombok horizon as Acosta and Marini traded positions through several overtaking moves. Enea Bastianini ended his Indonesian GP in the pit lane, retiring from the race as the confidence crisis at Red Bull KTM Tech3 continues. Fernández took a gamble on Marini that ended with both of them losing out from a suprise attack from Rins and Á.Márquez. Marini fared worse, falling back to eighth behind Brad Binder and Quartararo.
Rins pushed his luck even further, making a move on Acosta. The #42 had not scored a single point in the last three races, with his Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP seat under serious scrutiny. But he held his own against charging pack of Acosta and Á. Márquez. Meanwhile, Aldeguer was nearly ten seconds ahead of the battle.
The Final Stretch for Gresini Victory
With five laps, the only way anyone was catching Aldeguer was if the #54 binned it himself. Rins was falling behind rapidly, overtaken by Acosta, Binder, Fernández, Marini, Quartararo, Franco Morbidelli, and Fabio Di Giannantonio to tenth. Jack Miller slid off his bike, losing what would have been a great result for the Pramac Yamaha rider. The #43 managed to remount his bike to finish in fourteenth. Acosta clung on and managed to break away from Á.Márquez
It was a tense last lap to watch for everyone in the BK8 Gresini Racing garage, but it was worth the wait as Aldeguer gave a huge fist pump in the air to cross the line as a MotoGP Grand Prix winner.
M.Márquez and Bezzecchi went to the medical centre shortly after their race collision, with obvious concerns on the former’s right shoulder and humerus bone. Ducati Lenovo Team Manager, Davide Tardozzi, confirmed that there was evidence the #93 had sustained yet another fracture. We’ll await word whether either one will be added to the growing list of riders who won’t be in attendance at Phillip Island. With two weeks to figure out what is going on with the Ducati factory bikes, the grid is wide open for anyone to take a podium position in MotoGP.