This is it! The final stint is truly underway now, and we’ve flown from Misano to Pertamina Mandalika International Circuit in the blink of an eye. After a stunning parade taking MotoGP to the heart of our fans in Mataram on Wednesday, there was plenty to talk about on media day as the press conferences got in gear right after the big reveal: the 2025 calendar.
Press Conference 1 saw Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) sit alongside Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Emilia-Romagna GP winner Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), before Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team), Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) served up Press Conference 2.
Check out all the top headlines from the day and then come back for more as track action begins on Friday!
JORGE MARTIN (Prima Pramac Racing)
How much are you looking forward to this intense period?
“For sure, this next month and a half will be really demanding but I am looking forward to it, different tracks, different grip levels and situations, but now I want to focus on Indonesia, it is a really nice track, but it will be difficult. It is always. It could be a bit dirty, so it is important to be on the correct line and not to make mistakes, so I will try and be focused and do my best.”
Are you on a Revenge mission with Mandalika after last year?
“Yeah, last season I was strong, which was the important thing. I won the Sprint and then was leading by three seconds, so maybe I was too optimistic in the race. I feel I can be competitive as usual, so I will have my head down, as it is important to keep the same level of consistency all weekend. I remember also making some mistakes in qualifying, so I will try and be more concentrated and be as I was in the last races.”
Has your opinion changed to what happened on the last lap?
“For me, it doesn’t make sense to keep talking about the past, I don’t 100% agree as I think it was over the limit but it’s okay. In the end, I need to accept the stewards’ decision, so congrats to Enea and I will try here.”
What did you think of the parade on Wednesday?
“I don’t know about Marc or Enea but for me, I have never seen anything like this in my life. It was incredible how the fans were cheering for us and that they were so passionate and it seemed like we are gods or superheroes or something, but we are not, we are just riders. They like motorbikes a lot and enjoyed the parade, so I was enjoying the moment and I hope they come and enjoy the show.”
FRANCESCO BAGNAIA (Ducati Lenovo Team)
What answer have you found from last weekend?
“It is difficult to say something about the pace, at the start of the race, it was very difficult to push, I was not having a great feeling with the rear tyre. We spoke with Michelin a lot, and we tried to work together, as always, to develop and work together. About the crash it is not the first time that it has happened. It was my mistake, but as soon as you’re not pushing that hard on the brakes and your bike is more aligned, it is easier to lose the front, and it is something that we have already seen this season. It was a strange Sunday as I was feeling super good all weekend, but then, in the race, I was struggling to repeat the same pace as Practice. We are already focusing on this weekend. Sunday was good last season, but we will take what we did on Sunday and try and be competitive for the rest of the weekend.”
Is this a good track for you to come to so you can quickly forget Misano last weekend?
“Yeah, because it is a track that I like, it is a bit different from what we are used to in terms of grip as it is less, and we will have to get used to it as soon as possible. It is a good track, and I like it and think we can be very fast.”
What is it like racing in Indonesia for you?
“I didn’t have the luck to be with them on the truck as I was in Jakarta at another event. As Marc said, you arrive here and feel like a superstar; people look at you like a hero, and it is a fantastic feeling, the passion they have for our sport is unbelievable. If I check my Instagram followers, the highest percentage of people following me are from Indonesia, so it is something incredible, and I love them for their passion for our sport.”
ENEA BASTIANINI (Ducati Lenovo Team)
How much of a boost did that win on Sunday give you coming to Indonesia this weekend?
“The Indonesian track is one of my favourites; it is very beautiful, and I am confident to be fast at this track. It is different compared to European tracks, and also the asphalt will probably be dirty on Friday, but after it will be better, we have to be clear with the situation and have the confidence to improve, and I am ready to start.”
Have you been surprised about the reaction to what happened on the last lap?
“No, I am not surprised as I also went outside the line and I turned to see how Jorge was as I thought he might have crashed, but without the situation, I was on the line, and I agree with my first decision to be correct.”
What did you think of the parade on Wednesday?
“Yeah, a very good show, I like the Indonesian fans as they are like this, but this time it has been something big. I saw many people running with us when we were on the truck, and it was so nice to see how many people were following us. It will be important to have a good result for the fans.”
MARC MARQUEZ (Gresini Racing MotoGP)
Has your opinion changed to what happened on the last lap?
“I was not involved, and I have already said my opinion.”
Do you think the hot conditions and low grip will give you a better chance of fighting these three guys this weekend?
“It will be interesting to understand where we are here, I have never finished a race here in Indonesia as also in 2022, I had that massive crash in Warm Up. It is time to understand our level here, and the target will be on the top four/five positions again.”
Is it a track that you like, does it suit your riding style?
“Yeah, it is a track that I like, it is not one of my favourites, but it is a track that I like that has normally not been super good, but I am looking forward to understanding it with the Ducati.”
What did you think of the parade on Wednesday?
“It was a tough day as after a 20-hour flight, I had to go to the parade, but it is true it is super nice as every time we are here in Indonesia, you feel like a rockstar. The fans are super passionate as we know MotoGP is very big here in Indonesia, and to see all the fans enjoying MotoGP an d let’s see if they can enjoy this weekend.”
FABIO DI GIANNANTONIO (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team)
We know you have been carrying this shoulder injury the past couple of Grand Prix, what is the latest situation?
“Let’s say, as always, we have a lot of speculation about this, and I have the best staff at home and also the races that are monitoring the shoulder to understand how the condition is day by day, and the plan is to do all the season this year and to be ready for next year. We are trying to understand what the best decision for the shoulder is, whether it needs surgery or not. At the moment, we have not made any decision. We are trying to recover and are working 100% each day, trying to recover and reduce the inflammation, but at the moment, nothing is decided, we are just trying to understand how my situation is day by day.”
What do you expect, and how difficult will this weekend be?
“For sure, we know I am not at 100%, but mentally, I want to be at 100%, so the goal is to do the maximum on track and to be back here we were before injury – so fighting in the top five. It is a super special weekend, it is like a third home GP this year because we have a lot of Pertamina vibes as you said, we have huge support from the Indonesian fans, so the aim is to do really good things here and last year we had a good race so I think we can do great things.”
How much do you feed off the energy from the Indonesian fans?
“Yeah definitly, I said I was feeling like Justin Bieber, but the Beatles are the same, once a rockstar arrives in a city, it is like this. It was great to see so much support in the parade. It was fantastic, and I have never seen so many people cheering for us, I think this will give us some extra motivation. We have to do a good job with this new livery with the Indonesian flag, so I hope to do a good job for them, too.”
MARCO BEZZECCHI (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team)
You took third place in the Sprint and fifth place last year, do you expect to be in the mix at the front this weekend?
“Last year, my condition was very different from now, fortunately, as you said, I arrived here on Friday morning just four or five days after I had surgery on my shoulder. Saturday was an incredible day; I was able to get the podium in the Sprint after an overtake on the last lap on Maverick. It was a big emotion, and I think, as Fabio said, we have good staff in our team, which gives us the possibility to be the best that we can, so thanks to them and hopefully this weekend with the normal shoulder, we can do a little better.“
Where do you feel you have made the steps with yourself and the bike?
“In the last couple of rounds, I have been improving step by step, especially in the races and in Misano last week, I was very consistent in the GP, and I was satisfied with myself and the team. It wasn’t enough to make the podium, so hopefully, from now until the end of the season, we can continue to improve like this, of course, every condition and track is always different, so we will have to see weekend by weekend. Hopefully, we can continue to fight like this and get a better result.”
A huge weekend for you and the team:
“As Fabio said, it is a bit strange for me as I am not used to this, seeing myself in pictures around the city and everywhere. The support, as Fabio said, is amazing, and Pertamina is an unbelievable partner from here and we are lucky for this collaboration and also the support from the Indonesian fans. We are lucky to have this support, and hopefully, we can give them a good show.”
FABIO QUARTARARO (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP)
How much of a boost did last weekend give you?
“I think it was a really good race, by far the best weekend of the year, we have made some great pace and didn’t expect to be that fast throughout the whole race. Unfortunately, at the second to last corner, we had no fuel, but I think we can be happy as we always see the front guys quite close to us, so I think we made a step.”
What were you saying in the helmet at this moment?
“Well, you know, if it was one corner before, we would have pitted to the box, so I think for what it is worth, it’s not the position but the race we made. In the end, to finish P5 or P7 is not something which matters, what really matters is that we made some steps for the future which could be interesting.”
What do you put the improvements down to?
“It is the mentality; the mentality has changed quite a lot, and we have been working since February but haven’t really found a direction until the Misano Test ahead of Misano 1, where we found something which could be great. The direction is straightforward as we know what we have to improve, but then it is how. For us, power is something that we miss, for one lap, it is important, but for the race, I think it was especially important to fight.”
What do you think the potential is this weekend?
“I think the first step is to see how our bike is as we have spent nearly one month in Misano. The potential was great, but I think it is important to see what our potential is at this track. In FP1, the track will be quite dirty, and I think if we qualify in the top 10, I think we have the potential to have a great race on Sunday.”
