Author Archives: PressBox

Pedro Acosta said KTM was struggling for pace at the Indonesian Grand Prix because Ducati and Aprilia had made a clear step forward since 2025, while KTM’s RC16 had not changed much. Acosta said KTM was not necessarily worse than last year, but its rivals had improved more, and he described the Aprilias’ pace as “incredible.” He also said the Aprilias looked especially strong in the second sector and on medium Michelin tires.

After Friday practice at Mandalika, Acosta was focused on closing the gap to Aprilia. He finished fourth in the session with a lap of 1:29.394, 0.669 seconds behind Raul Fernandez, who topped the session. Acosta said he was “the best of the rest” behind the three Aprilias of Fernandez, Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin, and that he still lost about four-tenths of a second in the second sector alone. He said he matched his qualifying lap time from the previous year at Mandalika, but yellow flags canceled three of his four laps on one late run, and he said he still did not know what went wrong in Japan.

Acosta qualified ninth and finished sixth in Saturday’s 13-lap sprint after serving a long-lap penalty for exceeding track limits. He said he suffered from instability and “massive shakes” throughout the weekend, and believed a top-five finish was the best KTM could have achieved after its poor qualifying session. Acosta had finished second in both of the previous two Indonesian Grands Prix.

Raul Fernandez blasted Marco Bezzecchi as “unprofessional” after the two Aprilia riders crashed out of the MotoGP Indonesia sprint at Mandalika, saying Bezzecchi pushed him off the kerb under braking in the first braking zone of the opening lap. Fernandez said they had agreed before the sprint not to get in each other’s way because both had strong pace, and that the contact sent both riders into the gravel and allowed two Ducatis to pass them.

Fernandez, who had earned his maiden MotoGP pole earlier Saturday and started the sprint from pole position, said Bezzecchi “absolutely clattered” him. He said he suffered a fractured finger and a swollen hand, injuries that put his participation in the Grand Prix in doubt.

Fernandez was declared fit to ride and planned to try the warm-up before Sunday’s race. The FIM stewards ruled the incident a racing incident.

Toprak Razgatlioglu dislocated his right shoulder in a highside crash during Free Practice 2 at Mandalika in the Indonesian Grand Prix. He lost the rear at Turn 13 before being thrown off the bike, and he reportedly popped the shoulder back into place himself.

Razgatlioglu briefly visited the medical center after a circuit doctor intervened, and marshals helped him away from the incident. Pramac Yamaha advised him not to continue riding, but he wanted to keep going and returned to the pits with an ice pack on his shoulder.

He took part in qualifying despite the injury and advanced through Q1 before qualifying 19th with a 1:30.532 lap.

Jorge Martin carried a narrow championship lead into the Indonesian Grand Prix at Mandalika, ahead of Marc Marquez by 2 points, 333 to 331, with 222 points still available and 11 riders mathematically in the title fight. The weekend quickly tightened further as the top three riders in the world championship filled the top three places in Free Practice 1.

Marco Bezzecchi led opening practice with a lap of 1:30.132, 0.237 seconds ahead of Marquez, while Martin was third. Pedro Acosta finished fourth and Raul Fernandez was fifth, and three Aprilia RS-GP bikes were inside the top five.

Fernandez then took his first MotoGP pole position with a lap of 1:28.562, edging Bezzecchi by 0.109 seconds. Fabio di Giannantonio qualified third, Marquez fourth and Martin fifth, followed by Fermin Aldeguer in sixth and Ai Ogura in seventh after he recovered from a broken finger suffered on Friday and then crashed again in Q1.

Marquez won the 13-lap sprint, with Ogura second and Di Giannantonio third, while Martin finished fourth. The victory moved Marquez to the top of the 2026 world championship standings for the first time this season.

Marco Bezzecchi led FP1 at the Indonesian Grand Prix in Lombok with a 1:30.132 lap, 0.237 seconds ahead of Marc Marquez. Jorge Martin was third, Raul Fernandez fifth, and three Aprilia RS-GP bikes finished inside the top five. Ai Ogura and Fermin Aldeguer both crashed during the session, but neither was injured.

Friday practice went to Raul Fernandez, who set a new all-time lap record of 1:28.725 and finished 0.219 seconds ahead of Bezzecchi. Bezzecchi and Martin completed an Aprilia top-three sweep, with Pedro Acosta fourth and Marc Marquez fifth as the top Ducati rider. Francesco Bagnaia finished 10th to claim the final direct Q2 spot, while Fabio Quartararo was seventh despite a heavy crash.

In qualifying, Fernandez took pole position ahead of Bezzecchi in second and Fabio Di Giannantonio in third. Marc Marquez qualified fourth and Martin fifth, while Aldeguer recovered from Q1 to secure sixth. Q1 was disrupted by crashes from Johann Zarco, Jack Miller, Diogo Moreira, Enea Bastianini and Ogura.