MotoGP 2025 Indonesian Grand Prix: Preview
- Finn Glover
- 5 hours ago
- 3 min read
Written by Finn Glover, Edited by Vyas Ponnuri
The champion may be crowned, but there is still so much to play for as MotoGP heads into its final five rounds of the season. Marc Márquez is your 2025 champion, yet last time out, he was well and truly snowballed by his recovering teammate Pecco Bagnaia. Will that continue this weekend?
What better place to start the run into the season finale than the paradise island of Lombok? Soaring temperatures, the ever-present risk of a monsoon, it is time for one of the most unusual and attritional races of the 2025 MotoGP season.
The Indonesian Grand Prix: Mandalika International Street Circuit
Street by name, but definitely not by nature, Mandalika is possibly the most picturesque circuit not just in MotoGP, but in the world of motorsport. Debuting in 2021, it boasts a luscious background of green rolling hills on one side, and crystalline waters and white-sand beaches on the other. Never mind a preview, this is more like a travel brochure!
The track itself is a tricky one, with narrow, and often incredibly dusty racing lines while frequent wet weather often means the grip on track gets washed away in an instant.
At 2.680 mi (4.313 km) and 17 incredibly challenging and unique corners, it is a track which has drawn both criticisms and favourisms. There is relatively little opportunity to overtake, totally contradictory to Motegi just a week ago. The best opportunity is arguably into the wide-birthed T10, or the penultimate corner, the hairpin of T16.
Botched overtakes, extreme temperatures, and a narrow racing line seem to coincide in every edition of the Indonesian Grand Prix, resulting in a high number of retirees and races often being a matter of attrition.
Past results at Mandalika
There have only been three Indonesian Grand Prix held at Mandalika, with two prior editions in 1996 and 1997 being held at the fabulous Sentul Circuit, on the island of Java.
The two dry races have been won by Ducati, with Bagnaia brilliantly winning from 13th in 2023, after championship rival Jorge Mártin fell and practically handed the championship to the Italian. The Spaniard did, however, obliterate the field a year later in 2024, in soaring conditions where he was strongest.
The one exception was a phenomenal race held in monsoon conditions in 2022, on the circuit’s MotoGP debut. After a surplus of two hours delay, it was KTM’s rain-meister Miguel Oliveira who won amazingly, in some of the worst conditions in recent MotoGP history.
The same weekend, Marc Márquez suffered arguably his worst MotoGP crash in history, a heinous highside at the supersonic Turn 6. Now, three years later, he returns here, comeback complete, in one of the most unbelievable and remarkable stories in MotoGP history.
Key notices
Just when he seemed to be getting back into gear, Jorge Mártin is out again! A horrifically lucky T1 accident in Motegi leaves the Spaniard injured once more, and after successful surgery on a broken collarbone, he will miss the Indonesian Grand Prix.
No replacement has been announced, and there are no other injury concerns for the grid.
The main notices for now are limited to rider changes. Thai rider Somkait Chantra has been ousted to World SBK, and it seems inevitable that Brazilian Moto2 hotshot Diogo Moreira will replace him at LCR for 2026.
Joining him in World SBK is PRAMAC’s Miguel Oliveira, doing a direct swap with Toprak Razgatlioglu.
The riders' (and likely teams) championships are well and truly over; yet the manufacturer championship is one raging with envy, beneath the omnipotent Ducati domination. Aprilia now sits in P2, ahead of KTM and Honda, while Yamaha languish down in last. Right now, a single retirement could be worth crucial development time for 2026 and millions of pounds. It really is that pivotal!
So then, who will conquer the heat (and maybe the rain) this weekend in Lombok? On the paradise island, Marc can get the holiday celebrations started already. Will that invite someone else to take glory this weekend?
The race begins at a very early hour of 8 a.m. BST, (7 a.m. GMT). Do make sure to tune in!
