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Jorge Martin had a great ride from sixth to first to win in Mandalika and became the championship leader, as Francesco Bagnaia struggled and finished down in eighth position.
MotoGP Indonesia 2023 Sprint: How the race unfolded
Maverick Vinales led at the start, getting past the polesitter, Luca Marini, on the first lap. In third, Fabio Quartararo and Jorge Martin were embroiled in a very big battle, with included the pair swapping places a few times over the first two laps. Eventually though, the Spaniard made his way through.
Behind them, a few riders fell out of contention. Marc Marquez passed Aleix Espargaro for sixth on the opening lap, but he crashed on the very next corner. Espargaro then tried to pass Brad Binder, but he fell and crashed into the South African rider. Both continued, but far down the order and out of contention.
At the front, Vinales created a bit of a gap from Marini, who was later passed by Martin with a very aggressive move. He set after the Aprilia rider and he caught him on the eighth lap of twelve. Without wasting any time at all, he overtook him with a swift move and took over the lead.
🚀 @88jorgemartin LEADS!
He eases past Maverick! 💨#IndonesianGP 🇮🇩 pic.twitter.com/6j5POlKAfG
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 14, 2023
Vinales did not have the pace required and he fell backwards, into the clutches of Marini who passed him. He was then challenged by Marco Bezzecchi, who had benefitted from the crashes of other and passed Quartararo to get in podium contention. After a couple of failed moves, he made it stick on the final lap, and climbed into the top three.
But how about Francesco Bagnaia? The Italian failed to show good pace at any point of the race and he was stuck behind his teammate all the way through the race. From thirteenth on the grid, he mainly gained places thanks to three riders ahead crashing.
MotoGP Indonesia 2023 Sprint: The results
For the fourth straight weekend, Jorge Martin won the Sprint and this victory was very significant, as it made him the leader in the points standings. With the result today, the Pramac rider has climbed to the top, with a seven point advantage over Bagnaia.
Behind him, came the pair of VR46 riders, both recovering from collarbone injuries. Luca Marini sustained it in India and missed the round at Motegi, but he came back strong this weekend. For Marco Bezzecchi, the injury came just last weekend, with surgery just six days ago, so it was a very brave ride from the rider that stands third in the standings.
Maverick Vinales fell back after leading most of the way. Fabio Quartararo mixed it up at the front and finished fifth, a little bit behind the Aprilia rider. Fabio di Giannantonio was sixth, beating the factory riders, who were seventh and eighth. It was Enea Bastianini in front though, surprisingly, with Francesco Bagnaia a disappointing eighth and surrendering the championship lead.
The last point went the way of Jack Miller in the KTM, while the field made it to the flag with the exception of Aleix Espargaro, who parked his bike after his earlier fall, and Marc Marquez. Alex Rins made it to the finish, a very positive outcome after his very serious leg injury in Mugello, back in June.
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