The MotoGP World Championship continues to cause surprises in this spectacular start to the season and the victory of the young Italian Enea Bastianini (Ducati) on Lusail (Doha, Qatar) has joined today, under the deluge in the layout of Mandalika (Indonesia) the triumph of the portuguese Miguel Oliveira (KTM)who had not won since Last year’s Catalan GP. ‘The beast’ maintains the leadership of the World Cup, but now with only two points ahead of another surprising driver, the South African Brad Binder (KTM). Who has given a blow of authority today, not only because he has already made the leap to be competitive in water, is the champion, the French Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha)who finished second.
worldwide deluge
The truth is that the race, which was postponed for more than an hour due to a tremendous downpour that fell an hour before the start, in which the Catalan was not about to suffer a tremendous accident before Marc Marquez (Honda)It hasn’t had much of a history. the australian Jack Miller (Ducati), smart in the water, escaped from the start but was immediately caught by Oliveira, who left “as soon as I gained confidence, not only in my driving but in the tires and knowing the puddles” and he ended up imposing himself with great ease on the rest of the competitors.
The favourites, with the exception of the ‘Diablo’, which has resurfaced “in a circuit with short straights and the need for less engine & rdquor ;, have punctured again, not only because of the first zero of MM93but also due to a new failure of the runner-up ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia (Ducati, 15th)a new fall and second zero of the young Jorge Martin (Ducati) and two discreet positions of Joan Mir (Suzuki, 6th) and Alex Rins (Suzuki, 5th)in such a way that not only is Márquez still alive, but the World Cup has Bastianini, Binder, Quartararo and Oliveira in the top four positions, which means that everything is very open.
The ‘Devil’, happy
“It is, by far, the most wonderful podium of all that I have achieved, leaving, of course, the victories aside,” said the champion Quartararo. “Because not only did I finish second, very close to Miguel (Oliveira), who today, in the wet, had one gear more than the others, but it was in the water where I always had the most doubts but, as the veteran champions, there is a day when you ‘click’ and it changes everything. Luckily, that day has come and it was today. Today I had the grip on my rear wheel that I did not have in Qatar and today I rode with confidence, from less to more, until I feel very comfortable”.
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More than 63,000 fans, who endured, perhaps accustomed to the rain, the deluge that was the prelude to a somewhat bland race, enjoyed the performance of their idols and among them was, nothing more and nothing less, the president of the nation, Joko Widodo, who did not miss the first premier class race to be held in Indonesia for 25 years, when the bikes were 500cc and, now, it is MotoGP.
MotoGP World Championship: 1. Enea Bastianini (Italy), 30 points; 2. Brad Binder (South Africa), 28 points; 3. Fabio Quartararo (France), 27; 4. Miguel Oliveira (Portugal), 25 and 5. Johann Zarco (France), 24.