{"id":925841,"date":"2026-10-12T21:08:17","date_gmt":"2026-10-12T21:08:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/925841\/"},"modified":"2026-10-12T21:08:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-12T21:08:17","slug":"motogp-title-fight-aprilias-first-1-2-3-4-result-but-marquez-is-the-real-winner","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/925841\/","title":{"rendered":"MotoGP title fight: Aprilia\u2019s first 1-2-3-4 result but M\u00e1rquez is the real winner"},"content":{"rendered":"

Championship leader Jorge Martin was expected to take as many as twenty points off Marc M\u00e1rquez at Mandalika but they both scored the same
\nAcosta and M\u00e1rquez rage against Liberty fines for riders who miss promo activities
\nJust like Adelaide<\/a>? From next year Mandalika will be a street circuit<\/p>\n

Reigning world champion Marc M\u00e1rquez<\/a> went into last weekend\u2019s Indonesian Grand Prix expecting the worst. He knew Mandalika<\/a>\u2019s flowing layout and heat-resistant rear tyre would better suit the corner-speed Aprilias than his stop-and-go Ducati, so he might struggle to finish inside the top four. Meanwhile, title rival Jorge Martin<\/a> was expected to score big and increase his slight championship lead.<\/p>\n

M\u00e1rquez also knew Mandalika<\/a> was his nightmare circuit, which had treated him so badly in his previous four visits that he hadn\u2019t finished a single GP at the track.<\/p>\n

Thus Aprilia<\/a> knew this was a golden opportunity to inflict maximum damage on M\u00e1rquez and give Martin a substantial points advantage going into the last few races.<\/p>\n

Instead, M\u00e1rquez for once lucked out at Mandalika, while Aprilia<\/a> could hardly believe the RS-GP\u2019s technical superiority failed to deliver Martin a bigger title advantage. Both riders scored 22 points over the weekend, so they will go into next week\u2019s Australian GP separated by two points, same as they went into the Indonesian GP.<\/p>\n

Ironically, Aprilia\u2019s problem was that its RS-GP was almost too dominant at Mandalika. Although Martin had been the Noale brand\u2019s fastest rider at the previous three races, this time he couldn\u2019t match team-mate Marco Bezzecchi<\/a> and Trackhouse Aprilia<\/a>\u2019s Raul Fernandez, who seemed certain to take points off him just when he really needed them.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the fast corners the Aprilias are in another league \u2013 they have massive traction,\u201d explained VR46 Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio<\/a>, who rides a Desmosedici GP26, just like M\u00e1rquez\u2019s. \u201cI think we\u2019ve got better speed through the slower parts of the circuit: sector 1, 3 and a bit of 4. But it\u2019s quite clear their pace is three to four tenths better than ours.\u201d<\/p>\n

By Friday evening most people in pitlane knew Aprilia<\/a> was so far ahead that it might lock out the podium in both races and might even achieve the brand\u2019s first one-two-three-four.<\/p>\n

And then everything turned upside down on Saturday afternoon.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The sprint chain reaction: Di Giannantonio and M\u00e1rquez made contact, Bezzecchi took avoiding action, fell and took Fernandez with him. Martin couldn\u2019t believe his luck\u2026<\/p>\n

When Di Giannantonio out-braked Marc M\u00e1rquez into Turn 1, the pair made contact, M\u00e1rquez\u2019s right knee tagging the VR46 rider\u2019s left boot, which knocked his Ducati into first gear. Meanwhile pole-sitter Fernandez and Bezzecchi were jostling for position to their left. When Di Giannantonio\u2019s GP26 slowed suddenly, M\u00e1rquez lifted up to avoid further contact, then Bezzecchi lifted up, Fernandez hit him and the two Aprilias went careering into the gravel trap.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Martin, who had started from the middle of the second row, swept past the carnage to take the lead.<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw they were four into the first corner and I knew they weren\u2019t going to make it, so I just waited and took the good line and then I went through,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

By half-distance, Martin was on his way to maximum sprint points, M\u00e1rquez 1.5 seconds back, unable to match his speed.<\/p>\n

And then more drama. Martin\u2019s dash told him his front tyre was under the minimum pressure, so he surrendered his lead to M\u00e1rquez to use the Ducati\u2019s oven-hot draft to bring his front tyre back up to pressure. All that seemed to destabilise him, because he lost two more places to Di Giannantonio and Trackhouse Aprilia\u2019s Ai Ogura<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was able to make a big gap to Marc, then I realised I was under pressure, so I had to let Marc pass and from that point everything started to go a bit difficult,\u201d he explained. \u201cThat\u2019s why I made a mistake with two laps to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

M\u00e1rquez could hardly believe his luck \u2013 he had taken maximum points to move into the outright championship lead for the first time this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was expecting to lose points against Martin,\u201d said the 33-year-old Spaniard, who suffered like everyone in the vicious tropical conditions. \u201cOur target here is to not lose a lot of points. Today we gained. It was not what we expected, but you never know in racing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a super-intense race. I was pushing a lot and then after the podium I felt some dizziness, which has never happened before.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Sunday everything went right for Aprilia. Bezzecchi scored his first victory since May\u2019s Mugello<\/a> GP, Fernandez finished an heroic second, despite two broken fingers on his braking hand, Martin third and Ogura fourth.<\/p>\n

\"Bezzecchi<\/p>\n

Bezzecchi and Martin congratulate each other, both destroyed by 40 minutes wrestling burning hot motorcycles around Mandalika<\/p>\n

\n MotoGP\n <\/p>\n

M\u00e1rquez finished sixth, 10 seconds down on Bezzecchi and unable to beat Pedro Acosta<\/a>, even though the KTM<\/a> rider had a nightmare trying to keep his front tyre legal, letting M\u00e1rquez past several times.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was riding the whole race with the front tyre pressure, which was fine, fine, fine, fine, fine, not fine, not fine, not fine, fine, fine, fine, not fine, not fine, not fine,\u201d explained Acosta, who like everyone in MotoGP<\/a>, is fed up with the tyre pressure regulations.<\/p>\n

\u201cI mean, we look like donkeys, you know? I think Marc was having the same problems as me because he also let me pass him.\u201d<\/p>\n

M\u00e1rquez knew he would have finished in a similar position in the sprint, if it wasn\u2019t for all the drama.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wasn\u2019t braking late \u2013 no confidence,\u201d he said. \u201cI felt like there was more to lose than to gain.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Thursday, if you\u2019d said to me that I\u2019d lose only three points to Bezzecchi and I\u2019d equal Martin, it would\u2019ve been a dream. I\u2019m just so happy how the weekend ended.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin had been Aprilia\u2019s fastest rider at Misano<\/a>, Red Bull<\/a> Ring and Motegi<\/a> but this time he couldn\u2019t match Bezzecchi and Fernandez.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were two corners where they were super-fast, and I couldn\u2019t match their speed,\u201d he said on Sunday evening. \u201cI tried to analyse how they were doing it, but I wasn\u2019t able to match them. I was losing one-tenth in each of those corners, then I was trying to recover in the rest of the track.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martin might have been a bit faster if his crew hadn\u2019t decided to avoid another tyre-pressure disaster.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, I think we were too safe, so the tyre was over-pressured and locking a lot into corners,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Bezzecchi started 2026 in stunning form, winning four of the first seven races, before mistakes and injuries cost him the championship lead. His Sunday success was his first in 10 races and significant because it just about keeps him in the title hunt. He now stands 46 points behind Martin and 44 behind M\u00e1rquez, with 185 points up for grabs, or 148 if Qatar doesn\u2019t happen.<\/p>\n

\"Fernandez\u2019s<\/p>\n

Fernandez\u2019s ride to second with two broken fingers on his braking hand was nothing short of heroic<\/p>\n

\n MotoGP\n <\/p>\n

\u201cI feel super, super happy,\u201d said Bezzecchi, who overcame early leader Fernandez to win by four seconds. \u201cI had a very good beginning of the year until after Mugello, then some hard races, a bit of a hard time. And then after the injury [a broken collarbone sustained at Sachsenring<\/a>], the comeback wasn\u2019t bad, but it was difficult to reach the top step of the podium. Fortunately, we were able to do it today.<\/p>\n

\u201cRaul was much, much stronger than me at the beginning. It was difficult to stay in contact, but after a couple of laps I went in my rhythm and I started riding well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fernandez\u2019s result was a miracle, considering he had to change his braking technique.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mechanics made some changes to the bike to try and keep my hand on the handlebar,\u201d said Fernandez after his first podium since his British GP victory. \u201cIn warm-up I changed my body position in braking and I felt good.\u201d<\/p>\n

Liberty \u2018should back off a bit,\u2019 says Acosta<\/p>\n

\"M\u00e1rquez<\/p>\n

M\u00e1rquez during a pre-event promo event on Lombok island<\/p>\n

Liberty Media\u2019s MotoGP Sports and Entertainment Group has announced the introduction of hefty fines for riders who skip the increasing number of promotional activities imposed upon them.<\/p>\n

This follows Marc M\u00e1rquez and Fabio Quartararo<\/a> missing the previous weekend\u2019s kart race at Motegi, Japan.<\/p>\n

With immediate effect, Liberty will fine riders \u20ac5000 (\u00a34200) for first offences, with bigger penalties for subsequent violations. The fines were initially focused on requiring all riders to spend a minimum of 10 minutes with fans in the Hero Walk, which takes place on Sunday morning after they\u2019ve been paraded around the circuit.<\/p>\n

Many riders from M\u00e1rquez down are frustrated by Liberty cramming their schedules with more and more promo events, which eat into the time they usually spend working with their teams to hone their bikes for Saturday and Sunday races and also preparing themselves physically and mentally.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs riders, we are the first to want MotoGP to grow bigger and bigger,\u201d said M\u00e1rquez on Sunday. \u201cBut I think we can have different ways to grow the sport without pushing the riders so much.<\/p>\n

\u201cNow we have a lot of things to do, because it\u2019s not only MotoGP things. We have sponsor things during the weekend, team meetings, then Sunday warm-up, then you change quickly for the parade, then the hero walk, with a lot of people, then you come back for another team meeting after the warm-up because you didn\u2019t have time before.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, we are athletes. Next year, the schedule is even more intense. We are the first that want MotoGP to grow, but there are other ways to grow the championship. We have the show on the racetrack, not outside.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Championship leader Jorge Martin was expected to take as many as twenty points off Marc M\u00e1rquez at Mandalika…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":925842,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[572],"tags":[64,63,5745,806,805,803,804,85],"class_list":["post-925841","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-motosport","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-motogp","tag-motor","tag-motor-sports","tag-motosport","tag-motosports","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925841","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=925841"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/925841\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/925842"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=925841"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=925841"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=925841"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}