Marc Márquez and Sixth Place at Mandalika: “It Was a Dream”—Here’s Why He Chose Not to Take Risks

For Marc Marquez, sixth place in the Indonesian Grand Prix is not a defeat, but the result he would have signed for before even arriving at the track. Mandalika is the worst circuit on the calendar for the seven-time world champion, who had never managed to see the chequered flag in a GP at this venue since 2022.

That negative run has come to an end: after winning Saturday’s Sprint, the Ducati rider finished the full-length race in sixth place, more than 10 seconds behind winner Marco Bezzecchi. With Jorge Martin finishing third, Marquez leaves Indonesia exactly as he arrived, two points behind the championship lead. We discussed the race dominated by Aprilia in MotoGP Indonesian GP: Bezzecchi out of this world, Aprilia in command, and the Ducatis? Race report and standings.

The verdict from number 93 is clear: "Well, it’s easy to explain. If you had told me on Thursday that over the entire weekend I would lose only three points to Bezzecchi and remain level with Martin, it would have been a dream. And we achieved it at our worst track".

However, the Spaniard does not hide Sunday’s difficulties: "We had a great weekend and managed to be consistent throughout. It’s true that we struggled a lot in the race, especially in the second half. But I’m simply happy with the way the weekend ended".

The limitation was the loss of rear grip. At the braking zone for Turn 10, where he was overtaken several times, Marquez consciously decided not to push: "The rear suffered a huge drop-off. The front was perfect. It’s true that I eased off a little at Turn 10, but that was my strategy".

A choice dictated by the pace: "No risk, because with 12 laps to go, judging by the pace, I knew Acosta and Ogura would overtake me anyway, and perhaps Di Giannantonio too, although in the end Diggia backed off. I wasn’t braking late; I had no confidence. I managed it on some individual laps in practice, but today I felt there was more to lose than to gain".

The most significant point concerns his championship mindset. Marquez admits that he was only able to match Martin’s pace in flashes: "I pushed for a few laps, and on some of them I felt I could maintain more or less the same pace as Martin, but not for 10 laps, as yesterday in the Sprint, let alone 27. It’s true that I have to ride in a different way; I need to adapt to many things".

He then assessed his rivals: "With 12 laps to go, I felt Acosta was playing with us because he was having tyre-pressure issues. Ogura had an incredibly strong end to the race, and the only rider I was able to fight was Diggia because we have the same bike. But the other riders were faster than me. Sometimes you have to accept that, and that’s what I need to do if I want to fight for the championship".

The title battle remains completely open.Having overcome the challenge of the most difficult track, Marquez can move forward with just two points to make up.

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