Martin wins the sprint race in Indonesia and leads the MotoGP World Championship

First Amendment: 10/14/2023 – 11:09Last update: 10/14/2023 – 11:08

2 minutes

Italian Luca Marini (Ducati – VR46), who started from first place, came in second place, ahead of his compatriot Marco Pizzici (Ducati – VR46), who topped the podium just one week after undergoing surgery on a broken collarbone. .

With 328 points, Martin, who wins his fourth consecutive sprint race, leads Bagnaia (Ducati) by seven points ahead of the Indonesian Grand Prix on Sunday (07:00 GMT).

“I feel good,” the 25-year-old Madrid player said. “Maybe starting sixth was not the best, but in the end I was able to pass.”

He added to reporters, “Winning was difficult… but I am finally leading the world championship at this stage and this makes me feel very good. It is a dream!”

This is the first time that the Spanish driver has topped the overall standings of the World Championship, after Bagnaia and Pizzicchi drove.

Bagnaia, who started 13th in this race, will try to regain his time on Sunday.

In extremely hot and humid race conditions, Martin was more than a second ahead of Marini, who had shortly before set a new fastest lap record at the Mandalika circuit, located on the island of Lombok.

It was another Spaniard, Maverick Vinales, who took the lead at the start of the race, but he soon began to feel wear on his rear tire, at the same time as Martin returned.

Viñales finished at the foot of the podium.

Heroic Bezzecchi

Particularly notable was the performance of Pizzici, who finished third in the World Cup competition, as he managed to climb to the podium just six days after undergoing surgery for a fractured right collarbone. He arrived in Lombok on Friday, a few hours before the World Cup finals. the world. Start free training and get the green light from doctors to run.

“Until Friday I didn’t know if I would be able to run,” the Italian said. “It’s great to be here and although I was a bit lucky, I ran very fast as well.”

Marini is also returning to competition in Indonesia after breaking her collarbone in India three weeks ago.

With this result, Betski reduced the gap he had against Bagnaia to 49 points, 56 points behind the new leaders of the championship.

Spaniard Aleix Espargaro, who was the fastest in training, withdrew after colliding with South African Brad Bender on the second lap.

Six-time class champion Marc Marquez also suffered an accident with his Honda, in his first grand prix after announcing his departure to the Ducati-Gresini team on Thursday.

His brother Alex was unable to participate and will not be able to participate on Sunday due to the pain he is suffering from after breaking three ribs at the Indian Grand Prix last month.

The Indonesian Grand Prix returned to the MotoGP World Championship calendar last year after a long absence, having last been held in 1997.

© 2023 Agence France-Presse