10.10.2026
MotoGP 2026 - Round 17 of 22, Mandalika International Circuit – Qualification and Sprint
Pedro Acosta sweat through a demanding MotoGP Sprint, the seventeenth of the 2026 season, to score 6th place at Mandalika for the opening thrust of the Indonesian Grand Prix. The Red Bull KTM rider scored 4 points on Saturday while Enea Bastianini rode to 11th. In Moto3™ Brian Uriarte sealed his third Pole Position of the season as the top ten were split by a marginal 0.7 of a second.
Highlights and key moments from Mandalika International Circuit:
- Pedro Acosta is the lead KTM RC16 runner in a sweltering second day of activity at Mandalika and finishes the Sprint in P6 after starting from P9 on the grid.
- Enea Bastianini recovers positions from P14 after qualification to pass the Sprint flag in P11. Brad Binder is P16 while Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Maverick Viñales takes P18.
- Moto3 Pole honors for Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Brian Uriarte for the third time in the Spaniard’s rookie season. Teammate Alvaro Carpe also makes the front row in P3
The MotoGP paddock was surrounded by hot, sunny beaches and a tropical vibe on the island of Lombok but the teams and riders had to forget the surf and instead graft through the high temperatures to maximize grip and speed around the slick Mandalika International Circuit; being used for the fifth time for Grand Prix action.
Pedro Acosta rode to P4 in Practice on Friday around the flowing, complex but dirty 17-turn layout for another direct entry to Q2 on Saturday. Enea Bastianini fell twice chasing a lap-time to enter the top ten and had to accept Q1 status together with Brad Binder and Maverick Viñales. After the Q1 session on Saturday morning, Enea had P14 on the grid while Brad and Maverick registered P16 and P18 respectively. Acosta’s frantic Q2 was disrupted by yellow flags and a busy track and he only found the 9th quickest lap-time.
MotoGP laid further Michelin rubber around the course for 13 laps in the Sprint. Acosta shot into the top five and Binder tried to capitalize on a rapid start up to top ten. Traction, tire wear and tire pressures were mitigating factors in a race that was static outside of the podium positions. Pedro veered outside of track limits and had to make a Long Lap penalty, leaving him in P6 while Brad momentarily ran wide in Turn 16 with three laps to go that cost him ground and meant P16. Enea tried to overtake for more places and took P11 while Maverick completed decent race time for the evolution of his shoulder and was P18.
The Grand Prix (27 grueling laps) begins at 15.00 local time and 09.00 CEST.
Pedro Acosta, 9th in qualification, 6th in the Sprint: “I am suffering a lot of instability during the weekend and I was trying really hard to match the [others’] lap-times in sector two. I was having massive shakes, and I touched the green three times. I think top five was the maximum we were able to do today after a bad qualifying. We showed good pace and we were in the fight, not for the podium, but the few first. Let’s see for tomorrow.”
Enea Bastianini, 14th in qualification, 11th in the Sprint: “It has been better than yesterday because I crashed just once! I’m not so happy about the race. We know in these very hot conditions it can be difficult to overtake and you suffer a lot with the tire. I kept 11th by the end of the race…but I’m not so happy. We have some understeer and you can only solve this problem if you start at the front. I don’t know about the long race distance. We probably need to go with the medium but it is not our tire, anyway we need to use it.”
Brad Binder, 16th in qualification, 16th in the Sprint: “I had a great start and got past a lot of dudes to be somewhere around 10th but I lost in the rear in the second-to-last corner and ended up going off and re-joining at the back with three laps to go. So, a bit of a frustrating day for sure. We have quite a bit of work to do on the bike for tomorrow but a top ten should be do-able and hopefully more so let’s see.”
Maverick Viñales, 18th in qualification, 18th in the Sprint: “An intense weekend. I knew this track would be a challenge but I’m happy because I am not losing in the change of direction, which was my weakest point after the first operation. Like this I can survive and race-by-race I will get stronger; my back, shoulder and arm is getting bigger and better every time on the bike. We are on a good way. Tomorrow will be about learning. I need to keep riding.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “A challenging weekend so far but, in any case, we saw before the race there was potential and then during the race also for some quite good positions with Pedro and Brad. Pedro’s race was disturbed by his Long Lap penalty and he could not do much more. Anyway, P6 we have to be happy for this and use the base for tomorrow and build the best possible performance. For Brad the top ten was also possible but one mistake in the big group cost many positions. The same for him: the target is to be much higher by the end of the race.”
Grand Prix of Indonesia photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of Indonesia
1. Raul Fernandez (ESP) Aprilia 1:28.852
2. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia +0.109
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) Ducati +0.196
9. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.556
14. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:29.879 (Q1)
16. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:30.248 (Q1)
18. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:30.504 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Indonesia
1. Marc Marquez (ESP) Ducati 19:37.125
2. Ai Ogura (JPN) Aprilia +0.509
3. Fabio Di Giannantonio (ITA) Ducati +0.835
6. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +5.478
11. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +16.834
16. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +19.293
18. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 +23.472
KTM GP Academy
Moto3, the domain of the title-winning KTM RC4, again saw the KTM GP Academy searching for potential silverware opportunities for Sunday. On Friday, Red Bull KTM Ajo’s Alvaro Carpe was the quickest of the quartet in P4 while teammate Brian Uriarte was in the top ten and Rico Salmela displayed decent rookie speed in his first visit to Mandalika with P11. Qualification delivered faster lap-times with a cleaner and grippier track and Uriarte improved to head the time sheets. The Spaniard’s P1 represented the third Pole Position of his rookie term. For the second Grand Prix in a row, Red Bull KTM Ajo filled two of the three slots on the front row as Carpe notched P3, just 0.2 slower.
Salmela ended qualifying with 16th as many riders hurried to find effective slipstream tows to gain crucial tenths of a second. Red Bull KTM Tech3 teammate Valentin Perrone could not better his positioning from Friday and went into Q1; taking P19 on the grid. As usual, Moto3 opens the Grand Prix with a 20-lap race, starting at 06.00 on Sunday CEST.
Brian Uriarte: “This morning I did my job and tried to make a really nice pace, and I thought the tire would drop but I saw I had a bit more and was even faster. I’m really happy because in the qualifying I could do the lap by myself and I have some margin still. I’m a bit surprised but I tried my best. In the warmer conditions it is tougher to be faster…but we’ll go for it tomorrow.”
Moto2™ brought the full Red Bull KTM Ajo line-up back to active status. Collin Veijer had recovered sufficiently from left collarbone surgery to travel to Lombok and took to the track alongside Jose Antonio Rueda. Both riders had their acclimatization work to do through Friday and Saturday. After the Q1 and Q2 sessions it was Veijer who marked the swifter lap-time for 8th place on the grid. Rueda was 15th fastest as Moto2 divided the top 15 by just 0.6 of a second. The Moto2 Grand Prix distance will last for 22 laps on Sunday.
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Indonesia
1. Brian Uriarte (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo 1:36.861
2. David Almansa (ESP), KTM +0.087
3. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.243
6. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.355
16. Rico Salmela (FIN), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +1.630
19. Valentin Perrone (ARG) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:38.184 (Q1)
22. Marco Morelli (ARG) CFMOTO Aspar Team 1:38.394 (Q1)
Results Qualifying Moto2 Grand Prix of Indonesia
1. Izan Guevara (ESP) 1:31.963
2. Alex Escrig (ESP) +0.098
3. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.210
4. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.251
8. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.399
15. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.684
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