DI GIANNANTONIO’S TYRE DAMAGE, BAGNAIA’S CRASH AND ZARCO’S PHILLIP ISLAND CONCERNS

Fabio Di Giannantonio’s Indonesian Grand Prix weekend began with strong signs of a podium challenge. The VR46 Ducati rider qualified on the front row and finished third in Saturday’s sprint. Sunday proved very different: he lost two places at the start and spent much of the race defending rather than fighting at the front.

Di Giannantonio said he believed a good result was possible, although he expected Aprilia’s riders to be faster. “Our goal was simply to stay as close to them as possible,” he explained.

That plan unravelled after 10 laps, when his front tyre began to break apart and caused severe vibrations. He was sixth when the problem emerged and eventually lost two more places. A hole was found in the tyre after the race. At Turn 10, “my front wheel suddenly locked,” he said. “From then on, the race was over for me.” He added: “I was lucky not to crash and to be able to finish the race.”

Despite the disappointment, Di Giannantonio called it one of the team’s best weekends of the year. “Apart from the tyre problem, we were strong,” he said, crediting his front-row start with helping him secure Saturday’s podium.

Fabio Quartararo finished ninth in both the sprint and Grand Prix after starting 12th. He crossed Sunday’s line just 0.15 seconds behind Di Giannantonio, having pushed because he could see the Italian was struggling. “I needed one more lap, and I completely used up my tyres in the last five laps,” he said. Quartararo found the race physically demanding but was satisfied with the result despite difficulties in the opening five laps. He now has 74 points and is 14th in the championship, the leading Yamaha rider.

Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia endured a difficult weekend. After qualifying 10th and finishing the sprint eighth, he crashed on lap five of the Grand Prix while running 10th. Trying to catch Luca Marini and use his slipstream to raise front-tyre pressure, Bagnaia said he asked too much of the rear: “It didn’t support me.” His summary was: “No feeling, no grip, and I crashed.” It was his eighth Grand Prix non-score of the season, leaving him ninth in the standings on 166 points.

Enea Bastianini also struggled after his fourth-place finishes in both races at Motegi. He qualified 14th at Mandalika, missing Q2 by 0.15 seconds, then finished 11th in the sprint and 10th in the Grand Prix. Starting from the back made the opening stages difficult, he said, though he found it easier to recover as the group thinned. His main concern was turbulence in other riders’ slipstreams: the KTM became unsettled and resisted holding its line through corners. “You can feel the turbulence from the rider ahead,” he said, adding that the issue had also affected him in the sprint. With stronger winds expected at Phillip Island, Bastianini said he hoped to find a solution with the team.

Johann Zarco finished 13th, 26.3 seconds behind winner Marco Bezzecchi, and was the second-best Honda rider behind Luca Marini. He was pleased to have completed the physically demanding race, but said he had to leave a safety margin to avoid mistakes and crashes. “My race pace was good,” he said, though the caution cost him several tenths per lap and left him frustrated. Late vibrations from the rear tyre made him fear a puncture, but he chose to focus on finishing safely. Bastianini was stronger in the closing stages and attacked.

Zarco expects Honda to face another tough challenge at Phillip Island, where the fast corners suit Aprilia. “In normal conditions, we should not be able to win there,” he said, calling a victory a major surprise. The Australian circuit is where he claimed his first MotoGP win in 2023, but he is not travelling with that target. “Maybe it will be wet or damp. Then I’ll change my mind,” he said.