Bagnaia And Ducati Lenovo Team Back To Winning Ways In Mandalika Sprint Race
While Ducati is in the lead, Bastianini is second at the line
The Ducati Lenovo Team achieved a remarkable one-two finish in the sprint race at the Indonesian Grand Prix, held at the Mandalika Circuit. Francesco Bagnaia clinched the victory, closely followed by teammate Enea Bastianini, who finished just milliseconds behind him. Bagnaia, starting from fourth on the grid, made an impressive move to take second place at the first turn.
He seized the lead by the end of the first lap after Jorge Martín crashed out at turn 16. The reigning world champion skillfully managed the race, maintaining his lead against challenges from Marco Bezzecchi and Marc Márquez, before fending off a late charge from Bastianini in the final laps.
Moreover, with this win, Bagnaia has narrowed the gap in the championship standings to just 12 points. Bastianini’s race began from fifth position, but a small mistake at the first turn cost him a spot. However, he demonstrated excellent pace throughout the race, gradually closing in on the leaders.
In a decisive move during the penultimate lap, he overtook Márquez, pushing hard to contest the win. Ultimately, he crossed the finish line only 107 thousandths of a second behind Bagnaia. The Ducati Lenovo Team will continue their efforts with a warm-up session tomorrow at 10:40 local time (GMT +8), ahead of the main event, the 27-lap Indonesian Grand Prix, scheduled for 15:00.
On top of that, Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) expressed his joy, saying, “I’m very happy with this win. It wasn’t an easy race, especially with the highest track temperatures we’ve faced here. This morning, we made significant progress, and during qualifying, I figured out how to optimise my performance in the first two sectors.”
“Although I struggled at turns 15 and 16, I pushed hard in the earlier sections, knowing that my speed diminished in the last split. This strategy worked today, and I’ll focus on further improving during the warm-up.” He added.
Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) reflected on his race, stating, “It was a good sprint; unfortunately, the start and my mistake at turn one impacted my chances of winning. Despite that, my pace was solid, especially under braking, allowing me to catch up and overtake several riders. Tomorrow’s race will be challenging.”
He concluded with, “Although Jorge crashed today, I expect him to be competitive, and the likely requirement for a medium rear tire could further complicate things.”
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