VOLUME ISSUE OCTOBER , P83
cesco Bagnaia (Lenovo Ducati)
endured a horrible race, finish-
ing 14th and last, some 29
seconds adrift of Bezzecchi in
one of his worst performances
in his MotoGP career.
Sunday MotoGP
There was high drama from
the start as Bezzecchi collided
into the rear right side of Marc
Marquez's Ducati at high speed
at turn six on lap one, with both
riders going down in a shower
of tumbling bikes and broken
carbon fiber. Marquez sustained
a collarbone injury requiring
checks in Europe, while Bezzec
-
chi was taken to the hospital for
further evaluation but was later
released.
At the front, it was Acosta
who timed the lights perfectly
to lead the field early on. Chaos
continued when Joan Mir (HRC
Castrol) fell on lap two, leav
-
ing Acosta in front of Aldeguer
and Marini. Aldeguer soon took
control, passing Acosta and
stretching his advantage relent-
lessly. By midrace, the rookie
was over six seconds clear and
never looked back.
The battle behind was fierce.
Acosta clung to second as
Marini, Fernandez, Rins and
Alex Marquez jostled for podi
-
um places. Rins briefly claimed
third before fading, allowing
Alex Marquez and later Acosta
to reshuffle the order.
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM
Factory Racing) stormed
through from 15th on the grid to
join the podium fight, ultimately
securing fourth.
Indonesia, where it was confirmed
that the triple World Champion rode
Franco Morbidelli's GP24 at the
post-race test at Misano in a bid to
understand why his struggles were
previously so pronounced. "Ducati
asked something of our team," said
Uccio Salucci in comments that
would anger upper factory man-
agement. "We are a family. Ducati
family, a VR46 family. And we tried
to help him on Monday in Misano.
We had our bike in our box, and
Ducati gave us another one." There
were signs of Ducati management's
patience on the matter fraying at
Mandalika. Team Manager Davide
Tardozzi snapped at Italian TV for
their continued line of questioning
on Bagnaia's current setup. And
the rider was under strict orders to
reveal nothing more on the matter.
"I'm just the rider," he told journal-
ists. "I just say what people tell me
to say."
KTM'S 2027 ENGINE
UP AND RUNNING
For the first time, KTM has indi-
cated on record that it intends to
continue its MotoGP involvement
beyond 2026, as it shared videos
of its 850cc engine being started
up for the first time. After a winter
of catastrophic losses that almost
led to the company's collapse,
KTM Motorsport Manager Pit Beir-
er has always been careful to stop
short of confirming the Austrian
factory's participation in MotoGP's
new era, starting in 2027. Yet his
words indicate that is very much in
their plans. "I am extremely happy
that we could fire up the future of
MotoGP already in September
2025," Beirer said. "We are on a
perfect time schedule to get the full
bike up and running very soon.
Briefly...
