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Lightning strikes on the track, crumbling asphalt, Quartararo going fast on the water: everything but the kitchen sink happened in Indonesia. Including Marquez being stopped by doctors after a close encounter with Mandalika's gravel traps. Celebrations all-round for KTM, winning with Oliveira, but no complaints either for Fabio, considering what his rivals were up to. Starting with Bagnaia, who seems to have not yet started his championship.
Bastianini doesn’t shine but keeps the leadership of the world championship and at least there, there is an Italian hat-trick. Thanks to Foggia who wins in Moto3 and becomes the leader of the championship and Vietti, 2nd behind Chantra, the trail-blazer in Moto2.
THE GOOD - A Portuguese rider who seemed to have disappeared, a Thai that no one was betting on and an Italian who had to remember what he's made of. The stories of Oliveira, Chantra and Foggia are all different in the prologue, but identical in the epilogue. Three wins, all at a distance, all well-deserved, all great.
THE BAD - The beaches, the ocean waves, the passion of the local public are beautiful, the Indonesian folklore is appreciable, but that asphalt just isn't. A newly built circuit that has to be patched up is not worthy of MotoGP, like shortened races because the problems have not been solved. They waited 25 years to return to Indonesia, let's hope it takes less to normalize things.
THE UGLY - In the Marquez vs Honda match, it was Marc who suffered a KO. He always manages to absorb impacts, but this time the blow was too hard. Seeing him halted once again is a shame, but the only one who can change things is Marquez himself. The new RC213V is yet to be understood, the physique needs time to settle down, so it takes patience. Which is the virtue of the strong, and Marc is certainly that.
THE DISAPPOINTMENT - Pecco Bagnaia wanted to see the number 1 next to his name, but he did not expect it to be the number of the amount of points taken home in two races. The bike is there and the rider as well, but it is the classification that counts and here things don’t look good. He is trying hard to see the glass half-full, but he knows that in Argentina he will have to fill it to the brim.
THE CONFIRMATION - A podium in the dry, a victory in the wet, leading the teams’ and constructors’ rankings. The only strange thing is that we are talking about KTM, an ugly duckling in the tests and a swan in the race. One swallow does not make a summer, but two say the sun is rising behind the clouds. The RC16 was the most in-form bike in the first two GPs and this is no small achievement.
THE MISTAKE – Back in the classroom, there is no need to rage on about Franco Morbidelli, an intelligent and normally diligent student, who knows he screwed up big-time. He paid for his distraction with 3 positions on the grid, he won't do it anymore.
THE SURPRISE - Usually it sinks to the bottom at the first hint of rain, yet at Mandalika the M1 was transformed into a motorboat capable of breaking through the waves. Three Yamahas in the top 10 at the finish line and probably, without Dovizioso's problem, there would have been one more. Quartararo overcame his hydrophobia, Darryn Binder showed that he knows how to fight without causing (too many) disasters.
THE PASS - Quartararo's on Miller had a bit of a controversial aftermath. The Australian was angry, the Frenchman just shrugged his shoulders. Looking in from the outside, we feel we have to say that Fabio is right.
THE CURIOSITY - The fastest, most expensive and most technological bikes in the world stopped in the pits due to the rain. You can’t rule the skies, or maybe you can. At Mandalika the pawang hujan, the rain shamans, took to the field. They are hired for weddings and various events to ensure the sun shines. It seemed to work, MotoGP had its race.
I TOLD YOU SO - Davide Tardozzi placed his bet for the wet race: "Marco Bezzecchi". The bank won…
