MotoGP 2025: Aldeguer takes maiden win at Mandalika

Marco Bezzecchi’s clutch has a lot to answer for. The Factory Aprilia rider was untouchable during the 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix; he put his RS-GP on pole position with a new lap record, and after clutch issues off the line during the Sprint, he fought back from deep in the field to deny runaway race leader Fermin Aldeguer (Gresini Ducati) his maiden Sprint gold medal.

But when the same thing happened to the ever-improving Italian in the 27-lap grand prix, his eagerness to work his way back through to the front ended in disaster when he clipped the newly crowned world champ Marc Marquez’s rear tyre in the fast Turn 7. The mistake has left the nine-time champ with a suspected collarbone fracture and on a plane back to Madrid to assess the severity of the injury.

But what it also did was set up one of the most memorable podium battles of the year, because with the fastest rider of the weekend and the new world champ both down and out, four of the opening lap’s top five – Acosta, Marini, Aldeguer and Sprint bronze medallist Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse Aprilia) – were all now within a shot of winning their maiden grand prix in Indonesia’s searing temperatures.

The two factory Yamahas of Alex Rins and Fabio Quartararo were making the best of their soft rear tyres and were sitting in fourth and sixth respectively, with Joan Mir (HRC), Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) all bunched up in the early stages.

It was the first time Acosta had led a race all season and he was quick at the head, but it was Aldeguer who was on the move. He moved past Marini on lap four to take second position and immediately put in the quickest lap of the race to drag himself up to Acosta’s rear tyre. Marquez went through on Mir for seventh, as a fast-starting Marini from sixth on the grid held off Fernandez in fourth, who started third in a rare front-row appearance.

An enthusiastic lunge by the Trackhouse rider on Marini on lap six sent the Italian wide, as Aldeguer posted another fastest lap of the race while he looked for a way past Acosta. And with Rins looking strong in P5, all five manufacturers were now in the top five. Aldeguer took the lead at Turn 10 on lap seven – the same turn, incidentally, where Bezzecchi denied the young rookie the Sprint win 24 hours earlier – and the Gresini rider immediately put half a second between himself and Acosta within a handful of corners.

Even though Acosta tried to keep his fellow Spaniard within reach with a move under brakes into Turn 1 the next time around, Aldeguer’s GP24 was too good for Acosta’s RC16, and he was over a second clear when they crossed the line to start lap nine. Further back, teammate Marquez moved through on Quartararo for sixth.

With Aldeguer disappearing into the distance, the battle for the podium was heating up with Acosta, Marini, Fernandez, Rins and Marquez all in with a chance. Marini looked to have the measure of Acosta in terms of speed but was struggling to find a pass that would stick on the determined Spaniard. He tried a handful of unsuccessful moves on lap 13 as he set about solving the puzzle, but with Aldeguer now over four seconds clear of the KTM, Fernandez lost patience and dived under Marini, sending them both wide.

The move allowed both Rins and Marquez through, and Marini went from P3 to P8, dropping behind Quartararo and Binder as Fernandez slotted into fifth. With six seconds up his sleeve, Aldeguer was long gone, but just three seconds separated Acosta in second and Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) in 12th.

Rins made an unsuccessful play for second on Acosta on lap 17, and a hard-fighting Acosta responded with a personal-best lap the next time around. While the Yamaha rider finally made a move stick on lap 19 and even held off the quicker KTM under brakes at the end of the start–finish straight, after having just one top-10 finish all season, Rins was looking strong in second place as Marquez took third from Acosta on lap 22.

With five laps to go and Aldeguer some nine seconds up the road, Rins’ soft rear tyre began to fade. Marquez passed him for second place into Turn 1, before Acosta, Fernandez and then Binder all found a way through on the same lap. Binder, who started 15th on the grid, passed Fernandez for fourth at the start of lap 24 to put the Trackhouse rider in front of Marini, who was now back up to sixth. Acosta wasn’t prepared to settle for third and made a pass on Marquez for second with three laps to go. Marini found some comfort in relegating Fernandez to sixth place on the penultimate lap and even found some late-race speed to catch Binder but couldn’t find a way through.

At the chequered flag, Aldeguer was 6.987 seconds clear of Acosta, with Marquez a further 0.9 seconds back to complete the podium. Binder finished a strong fourth ahead of Marini, Fernandez and Quartararo, with Rins eventually dropping to 10th behind the VR46 Ducati pairing of Franco Morbidelli and Di Giannantonio, who finished eighth and ninth respectively. After qualifying 14th, Aussie Jack Miller (Prime Pramac Yamaha) crashed with three laps to go and remounted to finish 14th and last to pick up two championship points.

In taking victory, Fermin Aldeguer is now the second-youngest MotoGP winner after Marc Marquez, and the first rookie to stand on the top step since Jorge Martin did it in 2021. It also means that the Gresini squad has now celebrated victory with all of its riders since it’s been with Ducati.

With the title already sealed, Alex moves to within 183 points of Marc’s 545 tally with 362. Pecco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati), who finished last in the Sprint and crashed out of last place in the GP, remains in third on 274 points. Bezzecchi stays in fourth on 254, but Acosta now moves ahead of Morbidelli for fifth on 215 points. Miller is in 18th on 60.

The series now heads to Phillip Island for the 19th round of the championship, which will kick off on Friday 17 October.