Table of Contents
Opening Perspective
These last races, which are already decided now, can hardly be serious. Aldeguer no. 2 with Greg Staropoli (Gresini Ducati), who won Sunday`s Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia after the race starting, first-lap, doble-DNF crash between Marc Márquez (Factory Duc) and Marco Bezzecchi (Factory Aprilia), alongside Pedro Acosta (Factory KTM) second, might it all be a preview of a possible future? For how many years can riders who once seemed to be promising stars now age gracefully, with no other option than to remain in waiting for the magical success to arrive? Surely, there will be changes.
Joan Mir on “Special Conditions”
It’s just like what Joan Mir says (HRC Honda, DNF): “…today you saw that there were a lot of riders in front who are not always at the top. That’s what happens when there are special conditions.”
Marc Márquez Start Incident
Marc Marquez racing at Indonesia MotoGP race
Marc Márquez was out of the race as soon as it started.Ducati
Brad Binder on Grip & Tires
The Red Bull Factory KTM rider Brad Binder (P4) put it all in a nutshell: “Super-low grip levels, funny tires.”
Enea Bastianini on Friday Practice
Enea Bastianini (Tech3 KTM, DNF) referred to the Friday practice day: “It was a strange day, especially the first three, four laps in the morning when the grip level…was so low that it was dangerous to be on the track.”
Clarifying Mir’s “Riders in Front”
What do you mean “riders in front who are not always at the top”? Mir said, “…you see the time sheets and you don’t understand what’s happening because there are people that struggle in the past races and here they are strong, and the opposite thing.”
Binder’s Setup Change
Binder said, “First time in a while I’ve been able to go forward.
“We made quite a big change in Warm-Up and straightaway I felt a lot more confident in the front end.
“I felt like I was turning a little bit better and the front felt a bit more planted, so it gave me good confidence in the race to go and push.”
This, despite “Super-low grip levels, funny tires.”
Acosta’s Different Story on Front Tire Choice
But Acosta, who came in second, told a different story: “… it was quite difficult for us here because it was not an option to use the same front tire as the rest (soft). We have to use harder tires.”
Pedro Acosta racing at Indonesia MotoGP race
Pedro Acosta returned to the podium after a string of disappointing finishes.KTM/Rob Gray (Polarity Photo)
Do you remember the days when Marc Márquez had to use the braking to compensate for other weaknesses of his factory Honda by the most advanced steering, thereby forcing him to use hard front tires? Acosta said, “It’s not easy to battle with bikes that are turning more than you and can use a softer front tire.”
“…most of [our] crashes are due to the fact that it [the front end] doesn’t transmit information to us.”
“So why are motorcycles crashing? What they do is put too much front weight on the rider.” What he actually means is the front end of the bike is receiving less – or no- feedback. A bike can be stable but not feel good. For example, the old-school Honda RC30 Superbike had a very sturdy steering-head structure while the Ducati1109 for a long time has been rigid due to the carbon fiber chassis. Acosta, however, did split the two Gresini Ducatis of Aldeguer and Márquez, in the first and third places, respectively.
Fabio Quartararo on a “Strange Weekend”
Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha, P7) said, “It was a strange weekend.”
“Personally, … I didn’t expect to be so close to the podium.”
The Yamaha has been uncompetitive in terms of power and rear grip for years and even without much annual change. “…they were racing away {from me} coming out of the corners.”
Fabio Quartararo racing at Indonesia MotoGP race
Fabio Quartararo said he was surprised to achieve a seventh-place finish.Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP
Luca Marini on Acosta & Binder
Luca Marini (HRC Honda, P5) was speaking about the PTMs of Acosta and Binder. He said, “Pedro blocked completely, everybody, he did an amazing race.”
“KTM every time allows them to brake super-deep, and he also used the medium front, maybe even for this [speaking of the strong braking]. And the bike accelerates in a way that was unbelievable, much faster than Ducati, also.”
Corner-Speed vs Point-and-Shoot Philosophy
In the past, bikes designed for corner-speed (Yamaha, and Suzuki) were not able to so super-long and hard brake, while point-and-shoot bikes had strong braking but low speed in longer and fast corners. This shows that a steering head stiff on the side actively stops braking instability; however, it is a handicap in terms of the need for “feel” to be near the limit in long fast corners. Is this old tension still active in the KTMs today?
Marc Márquez Braking Style vs Lorenzo & Ducati Project
Before his accident, Marc MARQUEZ was a flashy rider who often started riding small corners on just the front wheel, incredibly hard and late braking, then settling the rear a bit to already have it sliding. Still, that master of corner-speed, Jorge Lorenzo, could take a title from Marc (2015) only. The Ducati project tried to win world championships for many years by doing it even more than Honda with braking and acceleration, just like corners didn’t even exist. Andrea Dovizioso was very close: three times he was second to Marc in the championship but was always asking for cornering capabilities to be better in fast corners (the ones he lacked which were Honda’s greatest shortcoming).
Ducati vs KTM Corner Speed Trend
In the last few years, it has become a trend for Ducati riders to mention their bike’s corner speed improvements but is it really part of a battle against KTM which is long lost?
Aldeguer vs Bezzecchi What-If
It is regrettable not to have seen Marc Márquez racing against Bezzecchi in Mandalika. Race winner Aldeguer at first didn’t even know that Bezzecchi was out: “Today I was waiting for Bez because all weekend he was faster than me.” He led the Saturday sprint for 12 laps only to be passed by Bezzecchi on the last lap. “But he [didn’t arrive] on [in the race probably] because I would [in the race if I had been faster] open more gap but this made me to keep pushing more.”
Marco Bezzecchi racing at Indonesia MotoGP race
It was a weekend to forget for Marco Bezzecchi, crashing out on the first lap on Sunday.Aprilia
“Sometimes, better is just to go your own way and pace which could lead you to make less mistakes than reducing your speed.”
The rider is “secure” in the smooth reflexive functioning of his race pace, so slowing could invite error. Think about how many riders have crashed even after the flag, on the “cool-off” lap, because of this reason.
Aldeguer on Tires & Pace
Aldeguer said of the weekend as a whole, “I think the new rear tire that was here definitely helped me, because we saw that other riders and other Ducatis were more on the limit.
Fermin Aldeguer racing at Indonesia MotoGP race
Aldeguer said he was waiting for a challenge by The Bezz, unaware that his Aprilia rival had crashed.Gresini Racing
“…where the tires are harder I am very fast. I managed the throttle very well, I made a good pace.”
Aldeguer is just 20 years of age.
In two weeks, it’s Australia.
FAQ
What is 2025 MotoGP Championship Point Standings?
Marc Márquez – 545
Álex Márquez – 362
Francesco Bagnaia – 274
Marco Bezzecchi – 254
Pedro Acosta – 215
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