There was no shortage of drama across the entire weekend of the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia in Moto2. Ultimately, it was Diogo Moreira who reigned supreme at Mandalika. Izan Guevara and Arón Canet were promoted to second and third, respectively, after Manuel González was disqualified post-race. The current championship leader is hanging on with only nine points between him and Moreira. With four races remaining, time is running out for our championship frontrunners to secure the title. Follow the weekend’s events at the Indonesian GP below to see how it has impacted their chances.
Vietti Fastest Around Mandalika in FP1
Coming into the weekend, it was confirmed that Jake Dixon would be leaving Moto2 to ride in the World Superbikes next year alongside current MotoGP rider Somkiat Chantra.
We’re still awaiting confirmation that Moreira will be moving up to MotoGP to take that spot in Honda. Daniel Muñoz was still standing in for Deniz Öncü. It was a home return welcome for Mario Suryo Aji. This was the #64 rider’s fourth race back since his shoulder surgery earlier in the season.
A few minutes into Free Practice 1, Japanese Grand Prix winner, Daniel Holgado, had to return back to the pit lane with issues plaguing his Kaltex bike. Fellow Motegi podium holder, Dixon, came down at Turn 10. He ran back to his Boscoscuro machine to get it back out on the track.
Celestino Vietti and González had been getting a little too close for comfort of late, and this session was no exception as they swapped lap times and orders throughout. Just before riders came out for the final run, the session was red-flagged due to technical issues and power outages.
A short time later and with eleven minutes remaining, the session resumed. Dixon crashed again, this time at Turn 16 as he lost the rear end. Holgado had a trip through the gravel trap before returning to the track. But no one could match Vietti on speed as the session came to a close.
González Leads the Charge During Practice
Forty minutes counted down on the clock for the Practice session as riders trickled out of the pit lane. Vietti topped the board after his first hot lap, but washed out in Turn 2 and immediately started another. Ultimately, the mistake cost the #13, falling out of contention for Q2 advancement.
Moreira went off-road into the gravel trap for a long stretch before rejoining the track safely. Tony Arbolino clipped the apex in Turn 8, unsettling the front and forcing the #14 to roll out of the corner to keep the bike upright. Despite these errors, both Moreira and Arbolino took a spot in the top fourteen.
Yellow flags came out in Sector 1 as Jorge Navarro tipped his bike into Turn 4. Canet came through in the aftermath as he started a final time attack. Unfortunately for the #44, he was thrown off his bike in Sector 4 in the final minutes of the session. He was the only rider out of the top five in the current championship standings to find himself in Q1 on Saturday.
González Picks Up Momentum on Saturday Morning
Due to a delay for technical issues, there was an immediate rush in Free Practice 2 to maintain the schedule for the later MotoGP sessions. However, cold tyres off the racing line provided limited grip as several riders fell within the first ten minutes. Navarro, Collin Veijer, Iván Ortolá, Ayumu Sasaki, and Arbolino tumbled and slid at different sections of the Pertamina Mandalika Circuit.
As the riders came back out for their second and final run, David Alonso had a huge high-speed crash into Turn 5. Canet experienced some unsettling vibrations as he pulled out of corner and made his way back to the pit lane for Fantic Racing engineers to knock out the gremlins. The top three of the session—González, Moreira, and Holgado—quietly made their way around the track with little incident.
Moreira Back on Pole in Action-Packed Qualifying
An all too familiar name to appear in Q1 recently, Canet needed to do whatever he could to advance into Q2. However, the #44 fell short once again, qualifying in twenty-first position for the Moto2 feature race.
There were a few other notable names battling it out for one of the top four spots. The home favourite, Aji, came down in Turn 1 after hitting the brakes hard to avoid collecting Filip Salač, who was at the top of the board. Vietti went riding in the gravel trap as Navarro rolled out of the same corner. Adrián Huertas used his track knowledge to keep in contention. However, he was bumped down as Álex Escrig topped the timesheet. The #11 moved up with Salač, Guevara, and Vietti.
The Q1 promotees joined González, Holgado, Muñoz, Arbolino, Dixon, Marcos Ramírez, Alonso, Moreira, Veijer, Sasaki, Barry Baltus, Albert Arenas, Zonta van den Goorbergh, and Ortolá. Another fifteen minutes counted down, but yellow flags came out shortly in Sector 1 as van den Goorbergh crashed. Alonso came up to the top of the timesheet. Moreira pulled another flying lap out of the hat, breaking the all-time lap record at 1:32.341 to dethrone Alonso. Meanwhile, Guevara made his first Moto2 podium appearance in third.
Moreira Unstoppable in Drama-Packed Sunday
There was drama from the very start of the Moto2 race, with Senna Agius making contact with van den Goorbergh at Turn 1. The #81 was handed a long lap penalty as a result, but still managed to finish within the points. Ramírez never made it past the first lap as he collided between Arbolino and Escrig. Arbolino was able to finish in sixteenth, but Escrig only completed eight laps before retiring.
Alonso had a vicious highside crash at Turn 16 in front of Ortolá. His CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar teammate, Holgado, came down in Turn 17 on the subsequent lap. Vietti crashed a few seconds later and was able to remount his machine. However, the #13 came through the pit lane twice before calling it quits near the end of the race. Meanwhile, Canet rescued his Indonesian GP weekend, charging all the way from twenty-first to fourth.
Unai Orradre ended his race on lap fourteen, while Salač lasted a little longer to finish with seventeen laps completed. For the top three, the last remaining laps were smooth sailing with no further plot twists. Or, so we thought.
Post-Race Aftermath Shakes Up Championship Standings
Hours after the race end, it was announced that González had been disqualified for using non-homologated software. The #18 claimed that he didn’t gain an advantage, but the rules are the rules. This means that González scored no points for the Moto2 feature race and barely holds onto the championship lead. The disqualification also moved Canet to a podium result, keeping his chance at becoming Moto2 World Champion alive, now thirty-three points behind González. Baltus and Dixon are not far behind either, making the title fight even more competitive as we wait to race again in Phillip Island.