Martin’s Masterclass: Five Key Takeaways from the 2024 MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix

Key Takeaways from the 2024 MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix

Top Highlights from the Indonesian GP

Jorge Martin delivered a dominant display to clinch victory at the 2024 MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix, thereby preserving his lead in the championship standings over Francesco Bagnaia.

The Pramac racer set a new lap record during qualifying and was on track to dominate at Mandalika, but a crash while leading the sprint race thwarted his chances.

Francesco Bagnaia secured a crucial sprint victory, reducing his championship gap to Martin by half. However, in the grand prix, the deficit increased back to 21 points as Bagnaia finished in third place, while Martin claimed his third Sunday win of the season.

The race for the championship is still very close, but Martin is starting to stand out as the likely winner.

Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez are nearly out of the running after failing to finish on Sunday.

In another part of the event, Pedro Acosta managed to maintain his position and secure a hard-fought second place in the grand prix despite issues with tyre pressure. Meanwhile, Johann Zarco delivered an outstanding performance for Honda, marking the best weekend of the year for the Japanese manufacturer.

These are the top five highlights from the Indonesian Grand Prix.

1 – Martin's ghostbusting solidifies his championship prospects

Jorge Martin was well aware of his devastating crash while leading the 2023 Indonesian GP. So, when he fell from the sprint's lead on the very first lap last Saturday, the parallel was unmistakable.

The Pramac rider, who impressively secured pole position with a record-breaking lap, attributed his crash during the sprint race to the surface conditions at Turn 16. Francesco Bagnaia, trailing him, observed that Martin was aggressively approaching the turn and believed that he could have gained a four-second advantage if he had successfully navigated through it.

Regardless, the situation increased the pressure on Martin as Bagnaia bounced back from a poor performance on Friday to win the sprint race, reducing the Pramac rider's lead in the championship to just 12 points.

During the grand prix, Martin maintained the lead from the beginning to the end, although he confessed to feeling uneasy whenever he navigated Turn 16 and Turn 11. Despite these distractions, he managed to stay focused and fend off a strong challenge from Pedro Acosta, ultimately securing victory by a margin of 1.4 seconds. This gap was reduced from an earlier lead of 2.5 seconds, as Martin eased off in the final lap.

With Bagnaia managing to secure third place, aided by his teammate Enea Bastianini's late crash, Martin's lead has extended to 21 points. The fact that he only lost three points from his starting position this weekend, despite a sprint crash that handed his main competitor a victory, highlights the steady performance Martin has demonstrated throughout 2024.

As the competition remains close between Martin and Bagnaia with five races left, Martin overcame a significant psychological challenge at Mandalika to secure his first grand prix victory since Le Mans. With the season now entering a phase where Martin was highly competitive last year, he is bolstering his position as the leading contender for the championship.

**2 – The Reason Behind This Being Dubbed a "Championship of Errors"**

Throughout the initial 15 rounds of the 2024 MotoGP season, the leading contenders for the championship, Martin and Bagnaia, have collectively failed to score points 11 times in both sprint races and main events.

Bagnaia tops the chart this year with seven instances of not finishing races, which is two more than the total times he failed to score in both 2022 and 2023, the years he secured his championships. In contrast, nearly all of Martin’s non-scoring outcomes this season have occurred when he was in the lead.

Martin's crash during the Indonesian sprint was his first since he lost the lead in the German GP back in July, which is a testament to his performance. On the other hand, Bagnaia has had three non-finishes during the same period. Earlier in the season, Martin's crashes were attributed to a specific braking setup on his Ducati that others did not use.

Following the sprint race in Mandalika, Bagnaia referred to the 2024 season as a “championship of errors,” attributing this primarily to the extremely grippy Michelin rear tire.

Bagnaia shared his thoughts, saying, "I’ve come up with an idea based on how the tyres have been performing. The rear tyres have shown significant improvement, and this is allowing us to brake harder since the rear tyres are greatly contributing to the braking process."

"The front tires present more challenges as we're entering corners at higher speeds. Michelin's performance enhancements this season have been remarkable. We've seen significant improvements in pace across all tracks throughout the season. However, pushing these limits increases the risk of crashes. Therefore, maintaining focus is crucial for the championship."

Bagnaia mentioned at Mandalika that Ducati might have an answer to this issue, though it isn't finalized at this time.

In response to a question about 2025, he mentioned, "I will request what I experimented with during the [Misano] test. It was extremely beneficial. The improvements we tested were very helpful. Unfortunately, I can't use it at the moment because they're not prepared to provide it to all the GP24s yet. So, I have to wait. It's a new chassis and I'm confident it will benefit all of us."

3 – Recent Stewards' Blunder Reflects Poorly on MotoGP

Just a week separated one controversy over stewarding from another. And yet again, the issue revolves around a lack of transparency.

Following the Indonesian Grand Prix, Pedro Acosta, Takaaki Nakagami, and Brad Binder were flagged for possible violations regarding tyre pressure. Typically, such notifications result in an automatic penalty, which would have pushed Acosta back by 16 seconds, knocking him off the podium.

The decision wasn't reached until long after the press conference, and Acosta avoided any penalties. The issue was attributed to a damaged wheel rim, which caused the pressure drop detected by the sensor.

However, Binder and Nakagami's verdict would be postponed until the Motegi event, requiring a minimum wait of four days for the final results to be confirmed. The officials' initial statement read: "Owing to the nature of the post-race technical inspections, the results will be announced at the following event."

Approximately 45 minutes later, the evaluations were finished, resulting in Nakagami receiving a penalty, whereas Binder’s data showed no wrongdoing on his part. However, when questioned by the press on Sunday, no explanation was provided.

There remains no clarification on why the officials believed that the inspections of Binder and Nakagami would be so time-consuming that it would postpone the confirmation of results by several days. The only information provided, according to a Dorna representative, is that the inspections were completed faster than expected.

The rule about tyre pressure has never been well-liked, largely because it has negatively affected the excitement of the races. However, the most recent incident, coupled with ongoing transparency issues, has further damaged confidence in the FIM stewards and has also hurt MotoGP's reputation.

Johann Zarco excelled for Honda, showing significant progress

Johann Zarco deservedly achieved the top spot in Crash.net's rider rankings this Sunday. The LCR rider delivered an outstanding performance on the improved RC213V at Mandalika. Although he nearly missed a direct entry to Q2 on Friday, he advanced from Q1 on Saturday, secured a seventh-place start, finished eighth in the sprint race, and placed ninth in the grand prix.

This event was the first time this season that Honda secured points in both the sprint and the Grand Prix. However, Zarco stood out not just as the top performer for Honda, but he also outshined all his teammates throughout the entire weekend.

In Indonesia, Zarco clarified that the improvements Honda had made to its motorcycle since the Misano test, such as the significant aerodynamic upgrade, were noticeable at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. However, due to the high grip levels and the fact that all competitors were well-prepared at Misano, Honda couldn't fully demonstrate its progress.

By enhancing his techniques for turning and braking, Zarco collected valuable information about Honda's competitors, as he managed to keep pace with them just outside the top 10 in both races.

This clearly revealed the longstanding traction issues with the Honda, and Zarco believes that a strong performance at Motegi will prove that the improvements noticed at Mandalika are indeed Honda's new standard.

5 – 2025 calendar unveiled, but uncertainties persist

Just before the Indonesian Grand Prix, MotoGP has at last released its tentative schedule for the 2025 season.

The upcoming season, planned to have 22 rounds as usual, features a noticeably different schedule compared to past years. This change was anticipated when it was revealed a few weeks ago that Thailand would kick off the season.

Portugal will continue to host MotoGP events for the next two years, thanks to Miguel Oliveira's efforts. The race will be scheduled consecutively with the one in Valencia, taking place at the end of the season in November.

The most notable change for 2025 is that there will be no triple-headers, which will reduce the strain on teams and riders compared to past seasons.

The main uncertainty is whether we will indeed have 22 rounds. Although Argentina is listed, the country's severe poverty rates under its current administration make the likelihood of the Rio Hondo race returning seem slim. The Argentina Grand Prix depends on government funding, and due to budget cuts in the nation, the 2024 race was called off.

The reintroduction of the Hungarian Grand Prix at the newly constructed Balaton Park circuit has brought about some uncertainties. The track requires substantial improvements, and past efforts by MotoGP to hold races in Hungary have not been particularly successful.

Strangely, the Indian Grand Prix has been marked as a backup event for 2025 even though it was removed from the 2024 schedule and won't be included next year as a planned event.

Considering the numerous issues with the calendar in recent years, it's clear why the paddock is viewing the tentative 2025 schedule with skepticism.

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