The track was a pleasant surprise in Indonesia! Wide open with some big jumps, hills and off-cambers, it had a little bit of everything including loam and hard pack on track.
It was a great all-round test for the riders and hopefully more can attend next year – especially in MX2.
Entries in MXGP were actually decent with 16 regulars and with the likes Herlings and Renaux injured which would have made it 18 you aren’t far away from having what I feel should be the minimum going overseas, the top 20 healthy riders in the series, but of course that needs financial support from the organisers too.
MX2 only had ten GP regulars, and with food poisoning also an issue it certainly wasn’t a great optic but ironically the races were good! De Wolf supplied drama in the qualifier and thew opening moto but food poisoning and crashes meant he had nothing left for race two, however it was nice to see his raw speed back at the front of the field as he dueled with Geerts.
Jago lost the red plate in Indonesia and crashes ended his hopes of a win – four over the two motos! In race one he was putting Vialle under pressure until he hit the deck ending what looked to be an exciting race-long duel yet again, but race two was nothing short of a disaster. A bizarrely terrible start despite not many regulars even on the gate led to a first lap crash that put Jago even more on the back foot, he crashed two more times after that, then admitted he was luck to even finish with a front wheel issue!
But again, those Jago crashes reared their head as Vialle kept his cool despite going off the track and knocking over a track worker, to go 1-1 and reclaim the championship lead. However, it’s still all to play for in MX2 with only four points separating the top two in the series!
MXGP was all Tim Gajser again even if Jorge Prado and Romain Febvre were not far off the pace. However, race two show Gajser had more speed when he really needed it, quickly passing Febvre then Prado in the opening laps before holding a small gap while being able to enjoy riding the new circuit. Even Jorge Prado admits that Gajser is on another level at the minute!
Romain Febvre again impressed and maybe gave a throwback to the intensity of last season in the opening couple of laps in the race two. With another two weeks to prepare he might be able to give Tim Gajser a tougher test on the hard pack at Loket with both riders the best in the world when it gets slick!
Article: Jonathan McCready
Images: InFront Moto Racing
Podcast! Jonathan McCready and Andy McKinstry look back at the Indonesian GP and discuss rider entries, the racing and the track. We also look back at the opening four rounds of the AMA Motocross series and the curious decision for KTM not to pay Cairoli to do the full championship.
