Join Matt Clayton and Renita Vermeulen as they break down the biggest storylines, from Pecco Bagnaia's fight to close the championship gap, to whether Jorge Martin can maintain his points lead.
Plus, the team take a closer look at the intense mid-field battles, and the potential impact of rain on race day.
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MotoGP heads to the Southern Hemisphere for the first round of the Six Flyaways, and what better places start than Mandalika, a tropical island paradise and that has been known to throw a few curve balls on and off track. I'm your host, Rnita vmullin and joining me is the man who's fresh from his secret side gig as the Rain Sharman's personal umbrella holder, none other that are all knowing always dry, Mister Matt Clayton, Matt, I can't start this Indonesian Grandfrix podcast without reminding you of that crazy weather and that Sharman lady banging on the bowl a couple of years ago.
So good. Let's see. I've been called a lot of things as a Motogpjurito over the years, Ronleda, but that's probably the best one. That's the one to maybe laugh the most. But yeah, God, that first race there in twenty two, that was bonkers the weather there. But when you look at where the track situated, when the helicopter shop pulls up, you can see how the weather could roll in there because it makes Philip Island look secluded. It's just so completely out there in the middle of the ocean with so many variables, and when it rains in that part of the world, it doesn't just drizzle, does it. It absolutely throws it down.
I love that since all the teams and the riders have arrived in Indonesia, you see their social media posts and they're all on the beach with the coconuts and chilling out, relaxing, and I'm thinking, yeah, well, in a few weeks time you'll come to Phillip Island and it's going to be freezing cold in Melbourne, so lap it up, guys while.
It's nice and warm.
Yeah, enjoy the sun and send all the winter all the winter gear down to Philip Island because there's a fair chat you'll need that and some sunscreen and some sunglasses and every other piece of paraphernalia over the Phillip Island weekend. But yeah, nice place to have a motor GP race, isn't it.
Mandalika definitely definitely on the bucket list as well, because it looks like such a beautiful holiday destination. But the circuit I find really interesting in the fact that it was purpose built literally for motor GP. The worlds who bays go down. I think the Asian road Racing Championship goes there.
But apart from.
Those three, it is hardly ever used. And we know from previous years that they say if you go offline, it's super dusty. We see a lot of crashes. Do you think once again this year we're going to see something similar like we have before.
Friday practice in Indonesia is always a bit of a more dirt tracking that it is road racing at that point because the track is so dirty. But it's a cool track, like it's a really nice layout. It's a layout that lends itself to good action and really seeing these motor GP bikes unleashed. But yeah, super one line because of how dirty it is and how infrequently it's used, but it tends to throw up interesting racism. And we've only been there twice. We had the first race in twenty two that was super wet, which Miguel Olivera won, and then last year was just it was the week before Philip Island, so it's a bit later in the calendar. But last year's Indonesia GP was pretty awesome viewing on the Saturday and the Sunday, And we touched on this the other day. How good is it that the rest of the world now has to wake up and watch Motor GP and we get to watch it the afternoon for the next five weeknds. It's fantastic news.
Well, I was doing the schedules for the Fox Sports Socials and I saw Saturday's race, So Saturday Sprint Sunday's race both on at five pm in Australian local time.
That's brilliant.
I am so looking forward to that because what better way do you want to spend your Saturday and Sunday afternoons than kicking back on the sofar watching roto GP.
Right, yeah, one hundred percent. And also this use of the word flyaways, which I'm guilty of it as well. I use it all the time as well. Don't we have to fly to just about every single race? Like why do we persist with this whole flyaways thing? Is Europe's doing it wrong. We're doing it right. We've got it on our time zone for the next five weekends, which is super fun.
Well, let's talk about last year's Grand Prix because it was really really interesting. We had the title chase battle heating up like we currently do, but it was mostly Peco and Jorge Martine.
Last year.
I'm going to start by last year's Grand Prix winner, Pekko Banyaya. He started and qualified thirteenth on the grid Sunday's Grand Prix, and he crossed the line in first. I don't think someone had done that for a very very long time. I'm talking like I think it was two thousand and seven. Was the last time someone qualified that far low and won the Grand Prix?
Right, yeah, two thousand and six, Turkey. I thought you'd bring this up, Marco Milandry, And that was noticeable because he beat this young Australian bloke called Casey Stoner. That day as the day that everyone's like, oh boy, god, Casey stone is going to be good. But yeah, seventeen years that someone had come from that far back on the grid to win a dry weather Grand Prix, and it was one that we just really didn't see coming because Banyaya had got knocked out in Q one on the Saturday, Martin had gone off and won the sprint and was leading the Grand Prix pretty comfortably as well, had a three or so second lead on the Sunday and then did what juge Martin tended to do a bit too much last year and that he threw it down the road turn eleven about halfway through that race, So that was pain in one sense. But then Banyay coming through from thirteenth to actually win the Grand Prix. Pretty amazing chain of events. And I reckon there was a real knock on effect from this race last year because the weekend following Indonesia was Philip Island. We know how fast Juage Martine is at Philip Island, and then of course we remember what he did in the race at Philip Pilot on the Saturday, not the Sunday. He was the one that took the tire gamble and it came and bit him on the last lap. He led it coming onto the start, finished straight of the last lap, finished fifth, And I got the feeling that the championship really started to unravel for him a weekend previously after he crashed out in Indonesia, and then every decision he made after that probably stemmed from that. So it was a critical race last year, super entertaining because of how unpredictable that Sunday was. But yeah, it's very hard to win from anywhere other than the first two rows in Motor GP these days, So for bad you I had to win from thirteenth. That was probably the most crucial race he won the whole of last year.
I want to touch on tires real quick because you just mentioned it there. We know last year they had a lot of troubles with the tires because of their actual circuit temperatures. I think it was recorded that last year Mandalika was the highest circuit or track temperature that they've ever had in Moto gips. I can't remember which rider, but the tire was actually like blistering right. So I'm thinking this year because we got the new Michelin's, but how much the Ducaties really drive through with that rear grip. Do you think we're going to have some tie issues again this weekend?
I would say the sprint less so because you know, obviously if your lapse, you get to go for it a bit more in that. But I think Sunday's race, if the weather's dry, which is if in air quotes, because we never know what's happening in that part of the world, could be one of those super cagey races where everyone's realizes they don't have twenty seven laps of tire life around this track. So you're going to have to really manage the pace in the early going. So that could be quite interesting because since on Sunday we might have a bit of a pack, I don't think anyone's going to break away and kill their ties in the first ten labs, So it could be one of those sort of slow to the boiled, cagey races that really sort of builds to a conclusion just tactically. I'll be really interesting interested to see how that plays out, because we know how abrasive that Tarmak is. It's a place that has pretty extreme whether either very very wet or very very hot, So I think that'll really dictate how this race has run and won. And someone like Bastjunini, and we've talked about this before, like the absolute master of tire preservation late race pace. If he's there and thereabouts in those final five laps, you know he's probably going to have more tie than anybody else, So he could definitely be one to watch if he can hang with that pack at the front.
And that pack at the front it's going to be Pecker and Jorge Martin. Obviously we know that they're both going to get a good start, but what about Marquez coming into this weekend, first time here on a Ji caddie. Last time he was here he had that massive high sight on the reps of Honder as well, which was just nasty. But how do you think he's going to go because he's been talking a lot lately about how we're going to really start to notice the differences between the twenty three and the twenty four GT. Yeah, he's going to be up there with the top too.
I think he's definitely on his back foot. I mean, you have to remember he's riding a GP twenty three. That was the bike that began last season with as well, so you know, it just gets older and older as we go along into this championship. But in a normal dry weather race, would he's going to be probably the best of that next group. But I think it's going to be hard for him to hang onto those twenty fours. But it's a weird one for him because normally you can always look back at historical precedent with Mark and say, well, he said success here and he's done this in the past. This is only one of three tracks on the calendar he's not one at and of course he's only raced here twice, so limited sample size for him. He's got a bike deficiency, I'm sure, but I think we said this last week after what had happened at Massano and then Aragon. If it's at any way sketchy or slightly half wet half dry, you know he's going to be there. So I think he needs external factors to keep him up the front. In a normal dry weather race. I think it's pretty hard to see him right up there, but he's the great opportunist. You only need to give him an inch and he's going to take a mile. So we'll put an asterisk on that. But in a straight fight, I think it'd be a little bit beyond them. This weekend.
I think it's.
Hard to not talk about their do you caddies, But I kind of think we've put them to bed for now with Mandalika. I want to just touch on a prillier because this style of track I feel like from history it does suit Maverick Vanellas and Elisha Spargo quite well. But the thing that I feel like is going to let them down is purely the heat and how much those aprillias do struggle or how much the riders struggle with the heat from the bike and the outside air temperature. What's your thoughts about those guys heading into this weekend.
It should on paper be a good track for them. You look at the track layer, it suits the way that the RSGP tends to handle. But that heat thing that you mentioned has been a factor. We saw it becoming an issue last year where we went to some of the tracks with the hotter ambient temperatures like India, and you know, they were good here last year. Maverick was particularly good here. But that might be the factor that holds them back. But I think this is a different conversation I reckon at the of the season compared to now, because their last two or three weekends they've been pretty poor, pretty much since Aragon, both Massanos, they weren't great. So theoretically this should be a good track for them to emerge out of that best of the rest category, But they got no momentum at the moment, They've got no form, and I reckon just as an aside. I think something that's going to start raising its head the longer this season goes. There's so many guys on the move right at the end of this season, going to New manufacturers and changing teams, and also Elisia's retiring in five races in six races time rather, so I reckon those sorts of things are going to start to play a factor, not only in the championship fight with Martin and Bangnaia and potentially Bastianini, but you've got a lot of moving parts in some of these teams further down the grid, and it's only natural if you're leaving manufacturer, particularly if you're not leading on great terms, like if you've been sacked like Jack Miller effectively, it could be a bit of a factor later in the season. And of course that factory are Prillier lineup, all new lineup going in there next year. Only one of the four are Prillier riders is actually your two for twenty five. So that could be something to watch going forward, couldn't it?
Oh? One hundred percent?
I read an article that they talking to Kevin Schwantz, the ninety three world champion who was at the last round of Mazana, and he was saying that he thinks Jujai Martin could fight for the title on the Aprillia. He goes in his opinion and I'm totally paraphrasing this, guys, but he thinks that Aleish and Maverick just aren't the complete package, which we know and we know that they both have their weaknesses, I guess we could say, but he thinks the work that Aleish's done coming into this far for who hate to then jump on, he goes, it wouldn't be long for him to be fighting for a championship. And I thought that's so interesting when literally the results, like you just said that, we've had the last few races from Alisha and Maverick, they just haven't been there, and it does kind of feel like maybe they're dropping the ball a little bit, or just their headspace isn't with Aprillia anymore.
It is for the next year.
Yeah, And also I think this you look at Prillier and KTM, right, I get the sense that we kind of know where the limit of the KTM is because Pedro Acosta tends to find the limit and sometimes goes over it because he keeps falling off. But I don't think you can ever look at KTM and what they're doing Binder to an extent as well, where you're like, so, what's the actual potential of this bike? I think we know where KTM is with a Prillier. I'm never convinced that we actually know where the ceiling of it is because Elaysha has done an incredible amount over a long period of time at that manufacturer. But you do wonder if I wouldn't say he's checked out because he's very, very competitive. But when you know you're about to retire, that's got to be in the back of your mind. And then Maverick, as we've discussed before, it's crazy to think that he's probably going to be the answer to the trivia question in a few years time. It's like, so, why didn't do Katie win every race in twenty twenty four because Maverick Vignalez won one on an a Prillier. We know how good he is when he's completely on it, but on a weekend to weekend basis, he fluctuates more than any rider on a race winning bike. So I just wonder what the absolute ceiling of the Aprillia is. The one thing we know with Jorge Martine is he will find that ceiling. So I do wonder next year whether we'll look at the Brillier and go, oh wow, this was actually a better bike than we thought if he's competing for podiums straight away, or whether we'll look at it and go, oh, maybe Maverick and Elisha had this bike kind of where it was because Martine's hitting his head against a ceiling and can't really compete with it ACADDI. So that's probably the most fascinating thing about that. Early part of next year for me is so how good is the Aprillia bike really? Because I'm not sure we one hundred percent know.
Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head there with that, and it is going to be interesting. Next year is going to be interesting because you touched on Jack Miller there moving to Yamaha, So obviously we want to talk about that because last weekend not the best results for Jack so far. But I feel like with the news that he is going to Prahmaha next year, having that, I guess stress taken off him. Are we going to see Jack improve for the remainder of this year?
Do you think everyone playing at home you can tick the PREBA har box on your big Go card because we managed to cover that one off for this week. But yeah, it was es suresally how bad things were for KTM last week at Masano, Jack finished sixteenth. He got pushed out of the points on the last slap by Johan Zako. There's some interesting picks of Zako's line into that third last corner. I'm sure Jack was hugely impressed with that. But Jack was sixteenth and he was the best of the ktms. It's a miserable weekend that was for KTM. But you can't help but think that, you know, Jack coming into this back half of the year with all the flyaways, he loves this time of year because he gets to come home. That's part of it. But I think just having that stress of will I won't ie, how long am I going to be here for? Where am I going to be riding? Having all that put to bed for at least the first well for at least the next six months, I suppose has got to help him in terms of his time finishing up with KTM. But then the flip side to that, of course, is that any developments they've got, he's not going to be privy to those or testing what's going on, So he's kind of seeing out his time there. But I don't know about you, how long into twenty twenty five year Rahim, it will be before the So what's Jack Miller doing next year's stories kickoff? Because the reason I mentioned it is that he's on a one year contract and Olivera's on a two year contract with Pramahar And I don't know about you, but when all the press stuff came out last week with Jack going to Yamaha, the difference between the fanfare and the carrying on that when olivera A signed compared to when Jack did. Jack's press release had no photo with management, everyone arm in arm or looking happy. It's a one year deal, no quotes from Jack, and the press release it was very sort of perfunctory, where Olivera was all the bells and whistles and he's a photo with Lyn Jarvis and so on and so forth. So I thought that was kind of interesting because you know what's going to happen. Of those two writers, Jack is the one that's out of contract first, So what will we get to round three? And people will start going, So I wonder what Jack Biller's doing in twenty twenty six, So that story is not going to He's still going to be answering questions about his future. It might even be earlier than this year with the way things go.
Oh, that's not what you want, is it?
But it is not.
We're going to still have him on the grid next year, and that's what we want, is just to have another Australian on the grid until our younger Ussies Senner, Joel and Jacob can finally step up. But I just want to touch back on the current rumor circulating at KTM about the change in team manager. I don't if you've heard about this, Matt yet, So the rumor that Guidotti is going out and Danny Padrosa is stepping in as team manager. What's your take on this, Because I'm in two mindsets. I think Danny's too good of a test writer to let go. But I do see that he is always in the garage, She's always communicating with the writers. He has that relationship with everyone there that I do think he would make a really good team manager as well.
So I am on the fence with this one.
Yeah, it's kind of two separate stories for me in that there's been a bit of blood letting going on at KTM because she has not gone as they would expect. So the Guidotti thing seems pretty real. He did the classic non denial denial when he was asked by Simon Kraefar on the coverage at Misano. So I don't think it'd be a great surprise he's out. But the thing with Padrosa is that I think he's still too young, too useful on a bike, and also just even in a personal side. I read the other day that he's just become a dad and there's all sorts of things going on in his life. I reckon he'd be a good team manager, but maybe not yet. It seems a little bit premature for me. It's almost like they need someone. If they've got aspirations to put him in that role in the future, that's great, but maybe not yet. They almost need like a stop gap. So I'd be pretty surprised if he became the new team manager. I mean, look, if Major GPS taught us anything this year, you should be surprised when you're surprised, because editthing's possible at this point. But I would be surprised if the good oddie stuff wasn't real that he's out. But I don't know if I see Danny Pedrosa being a team manager yet. He still looks like he could ride a race. I mean, we saw what he did as a wild card last year, so I don't reckon he's quite ready to hang the Helbert up yet. Surely.
Yeah, No, that's kind of what I thought, and that's why I said I'm totally on the fence, because I think he brings excitement here. He also connects that older I don't want to say generation, but the older fans of Moto GP who used to watching back in the Repsol hundred days because obviously he's been around for forever and competing with Valentino. To see him come back, it's like the older than you connect together.
I really like.
That well, and I think there's so much respect still too for the other riders on the grid, because you remember what he did last year when he came back, and it was at Masano. He's obviously really good there. He raced at Herreth as well, so tracks where we know he's good. But you know, I don't think he would sustain what he was doing in those races over a full season. But the guy is still quick and he's still so valuable as an asset behind the scenes on the bike that I think it would be I'm sure he'd be fine in a team manager role, but is that the best way to deploy him as an employee and as an asset at this point? Maybe not yet. So look, if you told me in two years that he was the team manager, I'd say I'm sure, but it just seems a bit premature for me.
Yeah, I can I can see that well. Touching back on this weekend at Mandalika, we haven't done before. I'm kind of throwing you on the spot here, Matt, but I want to know your prediction for this weekend. Who's going to take pole and who's going to take the Grand Prix win on Sunday.
Pole's easy because I automatically just say Jorge Martin's going to win every pole position because I think he's the fastest guy over one lap in Motor GP. It has been for about three years, so I wouldn't surprise it wouldn't surprise me if he's on pole at all. Race wise, I am going to make a bowl prediction and say we're not going to have an order Caddy podium because we've had plenty of those this year. I don't think that's going to happen. If anyone's going to get up there. It could be randomly good at Prily a weekend, or there will be a weekend where Pedro Acosta gets up the front and doesn't fall off. We know he's going to get up the front because he just man handles the bike, but I reckon this might be the Peco strikes back weekend because I think this race is more important to him than it is to Martine, which sounds silly because they're both going for a world championship. But Peko's almost at that point now where he can't afford any more sort of self inflicted wounds, if that makes sense, because he's coming from a position of deficit. So I think he's probably the guy I would put my heart earned on to win the race. But I don't think it's going to be an Audo Caddy podium. We mentioned the GP twenty three things. It's a good layout for a prilier, and I don't think we've seen the last of a Costra on a podium this year because I think he's just too quick. It's just whether he gets to stay on or not. But of course if it rains, then all my predictions will go flush down the drain. With all the rain water and in anything's possible, and I will up for a bit of chaos. I don't think we've had one of those completely mad races for a while, so yeah, let's have one of those.
I do want a really good flag to flag.
I want one that leg is actually like the legit flag to flag, not jo my team coming in.
You mean one, we're actually one. We're actually rains. Is that what you're to We haven't had one for a while. It's been so long since we had a proper wet GP. I reckon it would be it'd be like Japan last year. I'm just going back off the top of my head here. It's been literally a full calendar year since we've had a properly wet race.
So yeah, we're certainly due for one hundred percent. So maybe is it Mandalika? Maybe is it in Japan next weekend?
Who knows, don't feel don't say it's at Philiplo. I just want us to race. I just want us to race on Sunday at Philipylo this year. It's not too much to ask it.
And hopefully it's dry as well while we're running around like MadHatters. But guys of that is at your preview to this weekend's Mendalika Indonesian Grand Prix, but you can catch all the action alignment a break free on Fox Sports and KO Plus. Keep up today with all the latest Moto GP news on our socials at Fox Motorsport or via our website Fox sports dot com dot Au Forward Slash Motorsport. But from Matt Clayton and myself Nita Mulan, We're going to be back real soon to chat all things that happened and Mendalika