Francesco Bagnaia Back to the Top with Mandalika MotoGP Victory
- Istimewa
Mandalika – Ducati Corse rider, Francesco Bagnaia is back to the top after winning Indonesian MotoGP in Mandalika Circuit, Lombok, East Nusa Tenggara on October 15, 2023.
Bagnaia or known as Pecco, the defending champion, crossed the line 0.306sec ahead of Maverick Vinales (Aprilia Racing) in second, while Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha) finished in third position.
“I think we deserved a race like this. I just tried to do the maximum I could in the first few laps, tried to take care of the tires, then in the last laps I was a little out of pace, so I was controlling a lot," said Bagnaia as reported from the Guardian site.
Francesco Bagnaia
- Press Release
Bagnaia is back on top of the riders’ standings with 346 points, with Martín (328) in second and VR46 Racing’s Marco Bezzecchi (283) in third.
Starting from P13, Pecco proved his worth as the defending champion. He rode fast, leaving the riders behind him.
Bagnaia's biggest competitor this season, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac), did the same. Martin also raced from P6 and soon took over pole position from Luca Marini (Mooney VR46).
Struggling with a condition that has not fully recovered from injury, Marini had fallen because he was involved in contact with Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) which then earned him a long lap penalty. Marini immediately got up again and tried to catch up.
However, Valentino Rossi's younger brother immediately returned to the pits and received the first medical treatment on the shoulder area, before finally deciding to withdraw from the race.
Francesco Bagnaia
- Press Release
Two laps in, it didn't take long for Bagnaia to break into the top five by overtaking Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing). Bagnaia seemed to be eyeing the three riders in front of him, namely Martin, Maverick Vinales, and Fabio Quartararo.
Martin continued to lead until finally overtaken by Bagnaia and Espargaro. Bagnaia was then in the front three and tried to break the dominance of Martin, the winner of the Indonesian MotoGP Sprint.
Meanwhile, eight-time champion and home fans' favorite, Marc Marquez (HRC), crashed and decided not to finish the race despite being reported fine.
The surprise came midway through the race, as standings leader Martin crashed on lap 13 while attempting to pass Turn 11. This forced him to retire from the race and Vinales immediately took over the race lead.
This also ensured Bagnaia's return to the top of the standings, having secured a podium finish. Fierce competition occurred between Vinales, Bagnaia, and Quartararo who chased each other for the first position. With 10 laps remaining, Bagnaia was still trying to catch Vinales.
The miracle happened. Dramatically, Bagnaia managed to pass Vinales in the turn with a very thin gap between both of them.
