Marquez unleashed? Bagnaia back in business? MotoGP™ heads for Mandalika. There’s plenty on the line in the final five and a whole new dynamic after a historic weekend at Motegi – so who’s coming out on top in Lombok?

The greatest comeback in sporting history is complete: Marc Marquez (Ducati Lenovo Team) will tackle the remaining five rounds of 2025 with his seventh MotoGP crown in his back pocket. As we take flight to the island of Lombok in Indonesia, the stakes are still high throughout the standings. With no title pressure, Marc Marquez may be unleashed. Alex Marquez (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP) has a point to prove. And Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) already did just that at Motegi… so can he keep it rolling to close in on second overall?

BACK IN BUSINESS: can Bagnaia take the fight to Marquez in the final five?

Marc Marquez has demons to bury in Indonesia. Mandalika is a circuit he’s yet to even finish at in a GP race, let alone bag a podium or celebrate a victory. 2022 was derailed by his monster highside at Turn 7, one of the many comebacks contained within the 2184 days since he was last Champion in 2019, and there hasn’t been much luck since – including a technical DNF on Sunday last season. He was on the Sprint rostrum, however. If he can win the GP race here too, he’ll equal one more Valentino Rossi stat – wins at 23 different circuits. Marquez is on 22, Rossi 23, and the all-time record is close too: Mick Doohan won at 24. The #93 is also now free of any title pressure.

However. After a tough season so far, his teammate Bagnaia was impeccable in Japan, with his first Sprint win of 2025 on Saturday and a second Grand Prix victory of the year on Sunday. A first double. And not by luck or magic, the 2022 and 2023 MotoGP Champion looked mighty convincing – seemingly very much back in business. P2 overall is still the aim for Pecco and he HAS won here, from P13 on the grid in 2023 no less, and was on the podium last season after taking victory in the Sprint. Will we see those sparks of Jerez and Mugello fanned into real flames in the final five rounds?

CLOSING UP: silver medal spoils and the fight for fifth

Splitting the factory Ducatis, Alex Marquez’s title quest is over but second is still very much the aim, as well as the top Independent Team rider crown which he can take this weekend if he’s more than 148 clear in those standings. Overall in the Championship, he has 66 points to spare but if Bagnaia is back to his best, then it could be a fantastic showdown for silver. 32 points further back from the #63, Marco Bezzecchi’s (Aprilia Racing) rollercoaster weekend saw him on the floor through no fault of his own on Saturday before a combative Sunday saw the #72 fight back up to fourth. Fifth in the last two years at Mandalika, he seeks to make up ground in the P3 tussle too.

An intense three-way scrap for fifth is heading into the final quarter of 2025. Franco Morbidelli (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) may be the rider 144 points off Alex Marquez in the Independent Rider standings, but he has a one-point lead over Pedro Acosta (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and took a solid fourth place. Acosta suffered a point-less Sunday in Japan, costing him fifth overall. Then, 14 points adrift of his teammate, Fabio Di Giannantonio (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) sits seventh. Morbidelli bagged his best result of 2024 at Mandalika, Acosta was on the rostrum in Indonesia 12 months ago, and Diggia’s best result here is a fourth – some good form to add some spice to a feisty fifth place scrap. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), who has two GP podiums at Mandalika, is hanging on just behind them, 33 points from ‘Diggia’ in seventh, but just two points clear of top rookie Fermin Aldeguer (BK8 Gresini Racing MotoGP).

HONDA HEROICS: podium bagged, what next?

After his first podium in four years and first for Honda, as well as an equal best MotoGP qualifying and his best Sprint result in P4, Joan Mir (Honda HRC Castrol) leaves Motegi with a smile. If he can keep that rolling he may well be a dark horse in the closing stages of 2025, with a late charge for the top ten not out of the question. 52 points split him and Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LCR), who holds P10, but there are 185 still on the table. Meanwhile Mir’s teammate Luca Marini, who had some good speed on Honda turf but had to retire on Sunday at Motegi, was a polesitter in Indonesia back in 2023. Zarco took a double top ten finish last year and Somkiat Chantra (IDEMITSU Honda LCR) took Thailand’s first-ever Grand Prix win here in Moto2™ in 2022, too. Could Honda be a force to be reckoned with again at Mandalika?

In between Zarco and Mir, and battling to get into the top ten, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Raul Fernandez (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) and Enea Bastianini (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) are queueing up. Binder had a tough one at Motegi, Fernandez came home seventh and was the second Aprilia last time out, whilst Bastianini endured a challenging Japanese GP. But he does have some pretty good finishes at Mandalika – including pushing Pecco to within a tenth of the Sprint win last year.

BOUNCING BACK: luck wanted in Lombok

Jack Miller’s (Prima Pramac Yamaha MotoGP) luck was out at Motegi when his chain broke and he’ll want more. His teammate Miguel Oliveirahas scored points in his last four GPs and was the winner of the first ever Grand Prix at Mandalika back in 2022 in the rain too. Alex Rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) has always scored points in Indonesia and aims for more after three GPs without, and Maverick Viñales (Red Bull KTM Tech 3) hopes for a less painful weekend as he continues to recover from his shoulder injury, still sporting an ice pack in the paddock in Japan. Ai Ogura (Trackhouse MotoGP Team) had to withdraw from his home GP last weekend, still suffering the effects of his crash in Misano, and if he attempts to race here he’ll need to pass a medical. One rider who won’t be on track is Jorge Martin (Aprilia Racing), whose bad luck returned full force on Saturday in Japan as he broke his collarbone. He’s having surgery on that and won’t be replaced.

With the new Champion crowned, the fight for silver hotting up and so much more on the line – including the Team Championship for Ducati Lenovo – there’s much to look forward to in the final five races. They begin this weekend with the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, so don’t miss it – Lombok awaits!

Moto2™: Moreira closes in as title chase arrives in Mandalika

39 points down to 34 – it’s not a big chunk, but it was an important five points that Diogo Moreira (Italtrans Racing Team) clawed back on Manuel Gonzalez (LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) in Japan as the Moto2 title race continues to intrigue ahead of a date with Lombok.

Moreira’s P3 was his third podium in his last five, and the second weekend in a row where the gap to Gonzalez has come down. The latter’s busy race – which saw him handed a Long Lap penalty – eventually saw the championship leader finish P5 to limit the points damage.

Aron Canet’s (Fantic Racing) Motegi weekend was one to forget after his P15 finish saw the Spaniard drop to 49 points back, but the #44 now lands at a circuit he took pole, the fastest lap and win at last season. A repeat would be very much welcomed as both Fantic riders aim to reel themselves back into the title equation after Barry Baltus also lost some ground after a P7. 56 is the gap between Gonzalez and the Belgian now.

Last weekend, no one had an answer to Daniel Holgado’s (CFMOTO Power Electronics Aspar Team) pace on Sunday. A stunning win sees the star rookie continue his incredible form, and after his P2, Jake Dixon (ELF Marc VDS Racing) will be another rider high on confidence in Lombok. Both might be out of realistic title contention, but the duo look set to play a key role between now and the curtain closer in Valencia.

It’s a homecoming for Mario Aji (Idemitsu Honda Team Asia) this weekend too, as Indonesia’s Moto2 hero aims for points in front of his passionate faithful. How will the Moto2 championship look come Sunday? We’re very eager to find out.

Moto3™: match point Rueda in Mandalika

This is it then. The first match point for Jose Antonio Rueda (Red Bull KTM Ajo) has arrived this weekend at the Indonesian GP, with the #99 a commanding 93 points clear of Angel Piqueras (FRINSA – MT Helmets – MSI) after the latter picked up five points in Motegi compared to his rival’s 20.

To put it simply, if Rueda is 100 points or more clear of Piqueras at the end of the Grand Prix on Sunday, the title will land in the hands of the championship leader with four races remaining.

But Rueda and Piqueras won’t be the only names we’ll be focusing on. A supreme ride in Japan saw 2024 Indonesian GP podium finisher David Muñoz(LIQUI MOLY Dynavolt Intact GP) collect his third win of the season, while Maximo Quiles’ (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) eighth rostrum of 2025 saw him strengthen his grip on Rookie of the Year honours. And, both are chasing Piqueras for that much-desired P2 in the standings spot.

Valentin Perrone’s (Red Bull KTM Tech3) hot form continued in Japan too, so can the Argentine jump back on the podium this weekend – or even claim a first win? You wouldn’t bet against it. And speaking of first wins, that’s what Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) will be aiming for on a track he stood on the podium at last season.

So it’ll be all eyes on whether Rueda clinched the crown in Mandalika this weekend, as we strap in for another fascinating Moto3 encounter.