Marco Bezzecchi claimed a dominant victory at the Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday, marking a significant milestone as the 300th MotoGP win for an Italian rider. Riding for Aprilia, Bezzecchi surged to the front during the latter stages of the 27-lap race at the sweltering Mandalika International Circuit, finishing 4.26 seconds ahead of his closest challenger.
The race saw pole-sitter Raul Fernandez finish in second place. Despite suffering from two fractured fingers sustained during Saturday’s sprint, Fernandez delivered a resilient performance, holding off sustained pressure from Bezzecchi for much of the event before the Italian finally seized the lead on lap 19. Also on Aprilia bikes, spain’s Fernandez came home second and compatriot Martin third.
For Jorge Martin, the race resulted in a vital shift in the championship battle. After finishing third, the Spanish rider reclaimed the top spot in the overall standings, moving two points ahead of Ducati’s seven-time world champion Marc Marquez, who finished the race in sixth position. Martin now holds 355 points, compared to 353 for Marquez, with only five race weekends remaining in the season. According to martin, who will head to Australia in a fortnight with the most slender of leads,, He had done all he could.
Bezzecchi, whose last win occurred in May, remains a contender for the title as he sits in third place overall with 309 points. “It’s amazing, I’m very, very happy,” Bezzecchi remarked following his victory. “It was a nice battle with Raul and I think me and all my team deserve a result like this. They have been through tough times with me.”
Martin reflected on his performance as he prepares for the upcoming Australian Grand Prix. “I did the maximum,” Martin stated. “I did my best. At the start I lost a lot of positions but tried to be calm and was overtaking riders step by step. We are still in the fight and still in the lead.”
The weekend’s proceedings were highly competitive, contrasting with Saturday’s sprint race where Marquez secured victory to briefly overtake Martin in the points table. During that earlier event, both Bezzecchi and Fernandez had crashed out after a collision, making their recovery to the podium in Sunday’s main event a notable reversal of form.
As the series moves forward, the championship remains tightly contested among the top three riders. Martin expressed confidence despite the narrow margin, noting his focus remains on maintaining his lead through the final rounds of the season.
