04.10.2025
MotoGP 2025 - Round 18 of 22, Mandalika – Qualification and Sprint
- Brad Binder takes part in a hectic four-rider fight for the top ten of a Sprint that takes place in high temperatures. The South African gets to the flag with P10
- Pedro Acosta rushes up to P2 in the opening laps after lodging the team’s best qualifying time in P5. The Spaniard then falls out of podium contention before the halfway point of the Sprint
- Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Enea Bastianini falls after contact at Mandalika while Maverick Viñales makes the decision to withdraw from the Grand Prix due to his ongoing left shoulder recovery
- The KTM GP Academy occupied two of the first nine slots from the Moto3 starting line-up with Alvaro Carpe in P4 and Rueda in P9
The MotoGP paddock drifted west and south from Japan and filled the Mandalika International Circuit, one of the newest venues on the calendar. The 4.3km layout with 17 corners echoed to MotoGP engines for the fourth time and was hot, humid and tough for man, machine and rubber.
On Friday Pedro Acosta quickly found a feeling for the asphalt and his P3 in Practice sent him directly through to Q2 for Saturday. Brad Binder and Enea Bastianini, who suffered a small tumbles on Friday, went into Q1, as well as Maverick Viñales who valiantly tried to adapt to the course’s changes of direction with his left shoulder.
Through Saturday’s qualification Acosta’s best flying lap was good enough for P5, the second row and was just 0.5 from Pole Position. The Q1 and Q2 sessions ended with Binder in P15, Bastianini P17 and Viñales in P20: Maverick then making the tough call to withdraw from the Grand Prix due to the difficulty of his physical condition. The other three riders swiftly turned their attention to the 13-lap Sprint and also with an eye on settings and tire management options for the longer GP on Sunday.
Acosta started with all guns firing and surged into 2nd position by lap two. The Spaniard then tucked the front end at the start of lap five and went into the gravel. He was able to recover the #37 KTM RC16 but was then forced to retire. Red Bull KTM Factory Racing were then carefully charting the progress of Binder who worked his way up to P8. The South African had a close fight with four other riders and eventually crossed the line in P11 and was promoted to P10. Bastianini crashed out while filtering through the last sector of lap four and after he had contact with another rider deep in the pack.
MotoGP dashes up to speed from 15.00 local time (09.00 CEST) for 27 laps on Sunday.
Brad Binder, 15th in qualification, 10th in the Sprint: “A really tricky weekend so far in general. I tried my best to recover some positions and had a great start but then as the tire started to drop I struggled more. We’ll try again tomorrow. The medium tire will be better for the long run. It should be pretty good. We just need to try and figure out how to make more time at this track by flowing a bit more.”
Pedro Acosta, 5th in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “All the mistakes hurt! Let’s move into tomorrow because we will have more possibilities with the medium tire. We know the limitations of our bike but the crash was strange because I did the same as I had the lap before. I was making a good rhythm, not bad and I was catching the leader. We have to evaluate a bit more with the team but, anyway, with the harder tire I’m quite optimistic for tomorrow.”
Enea Bastianini, 17th in qualification, DNF in the Sprint: “Tough day. Qualifying was complicated but usually my pace in the race is a bit better but I crashed after contact. I was a bit lucky because it was a fast corner. I have some pain but nothing too bad. For tomorrow I hope for better, I think my pace can be better but the grip is low here and it’s hard to put temperature into the tire. We’ll see if we can find something to help me in the first two-three laps. We’ll see.”
Maverick Viñales, 20th in qualification, DNS in the Sprint: “Sometimes the hardest decision is the smartest one. Together with the team we decided to stop and focus fully on recovery as my shoulder still needs more time. Thanks to everyone for the support and understanding.”
Aki Ajo, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager: “The positives involve Pedro’s high and consistent performance and pace starting from yesterday. It was really promising for the Sprint and the race and it was just a shame we could not bring it to the finish today. Anyway, it looks good for tomorrow and with the harder rear tire we might be able to fight for top positions again. P10 is not what we or Brad are looking for but, in any case, more solid work and to finish the race means more consistency and that’s what we need as a base for improvement. Unfortunately Enea’s race was short but tomorrow we have another chance tomorrow and, as usual, he can be very strong over the longer distance. Hopefully with a good start and first laps he can bring the bike higher. For Maverick this track was more physical than we expected and also the recovery has been slower than we thought so finally there was a decision to focus more on recovery off the bike.”
Grand Prix of Indonesia photographs can be found HERE
Results Qualifying MotoGP Grand Prix of Indonesia
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia 1:28.832
2. Fermin Aldeguer (ESP) Ducati +0.398
3. Raul Fernandez (ESP) Aprilia +0.452
5. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +0.511
15. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing 1:29.996 (Q1)
17. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:30.242 (Q1)
20. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3 1:30.956 (Q1)
Results MotoGP Sprint Grand Prix of Indonesia
1. Marco Bezzecchi (ITA) Aprilia 19:37.047
2. Fermin Aldeguer (ESP) Ducati +0.157
3. Raul Fernandez (ESP) Aprilia +4.062
10. Brad Binder (RSA) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing +13.312
DNF. Pedro Acosta (ESP) Red Bull KTM Factory Racing
DNF. Enea Bastianini (ITA) Red Bull KTM Tech3
DNS. Maverick Viñales (ESP) Red Bull KTM Tech3
KTM GP Academy
Moto3 qualifying produced a condensed top ten with just 0.5 of a second separating the riders. Red Bull KTM Ajo were helping Jose Antonio Rueda in his usual race preparation but also with full recognition of the Spaniard’s first golden chance of claiming the 2025 title on Sunday. Rueda just needs 7 points more than Angel Piqueras to confirm his #1 status for the year, and he set the 9th fastest lap for the third row. Teammate Alvaro Carpe shone with improved pace and was P4.
Red Bull KTM Tech3’s Jacob Roulstone was also in Q2 and secured P13. Unfortunately, Valentin Perrone suffered a hefty crash on Friday and was declared unfit for the remainder of the Grand Prix. The team are hopeful that the Argentine rookie can be fit again for the Australian round in two weeks’ time.
In Moto2 Collin Veijer was less than half a second from Pole Position for a decent P7 on the grid and the tip of row three. Daniel Muñoz was making his seventh appearance for the Red Bull KTM Ajo team this season but the rookie at least had the benefit of racing at Mandalika in 2024. Muñoz was 17th fastest, and Moto2 will get quick for 22 laps tomorrow.
Results Qualifying Moto3 Grand Prix of Indonesia
1. Adrian Fernandez (ESP) Honda 1:37.022
2. David Muñoz (ESP) KTM +0.099
3. Joel Kelso (AUS) KTM +0.152
4. Alvaro Carpe (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.159
6. Maximo Quiles (ESP) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.341
9. Jose Antonio Rueda (ESP), Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.525
12. Dennis Foggia (ITA) CFMOTO Aspar Team +0.685
13. Jacob Roulstone (AUS), Red Bull KTM Tech3 +0.688
Results Qualifying Moto2 Grand Prix of Indonesia
1. Diogo Moreira (BRA) 1:32.341
2. David Alonso (COL) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.158
3. Izan Guevara (ESP) +0.175
5. Daniel Holgado (ESP) CFMOTO Inde Aspar Team +0.330
7. Collin Veijer (NED) Red Bull KTM Ajo +0.484
17. Daniel Muñoz (ESP) Red Bull KTM Ajo +1.111
PRESS CONTACT
Evangelia Sissis
PR Manager MotoGP
+43 676 665 2742
evangelia.sissis@ktm.com