The 2024 Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia inaugurated the Asia and Oceania leg of the FIM MotoGP™ World Championship, ahead of the grand finale in Valencia, which will take place in mid-November. Two intense months during which Michelin will support the riders on sometimes atypical circuits. The Mandalika track in Indonesia is one of these difficult tracks, both in terms of its profile and the hot and humid weather conditions encountered at this time of year.
Opened in 2021 and included in the MotoGP calendar from 2022, this circuit is located on the island of Lombok, in the south of the Indonesian archipelago. The 4.3 kilometre track, with six left turns and eleven right handers, is characterised by a short 723 m straight, on which the bikes regularly reach 320 km/h. Very rhythmic, the track layout generates a lot of heat and places a lot of stress on both the front and rear tyres, while the very hot weather only adds to the stress on the tyres.
To meet the specific requirements of Mandalika, Michelin developed special tyres which are less sensitive to intense heat. The structure of the front tyre is subsequently reinforced for the Hard specification, and the same at the rear for both Soft and Medium options.
“We have adapted the tyre allocation for the Mandalika circuit in order to meet the needs of the riders on this atypical track. The experience gained in the previous two seasons allowed us to target the technical characteristics of the tyres, both in terms of the structure and the rubber compounds selected," says Piero Taramasso, Michelin's two-wheel racing manager. "The tyres provided a very high level of grip throughout the weekend, although initially the change in stiffness surprised some riders. The rear tyres needed to be completely warmed up to deliver their maximum grip, and the riders who understood how this worked made the most of their allocation. During Practice, seven riders were faster than the all-time circuit lap record set in 2023, and Jorge Martin took pole position in Q2, lowering the record by almost a second in the process! The Hard front and Soft rear combination was preferred by the riders for the Tissot Sprint, while the choice for the Grand Prix was mainly Hard front, coupled with a Medium rear. Finally, I would like to highlight the absence of degradation both in the Sprint race and during the Grand Prix.”
Ducati Lenovo Team took a one-two finish in the Tissot Sprint on Saturday, with Francesco Bagnaia taking the chequered flag ahead of Enea Bastianini. Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) completed the podium after 13 laps of a very fast-paced race.
The 2024 Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia was won by Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), who led from the start. Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) took second place, while Francesco Bagnaia came home in third.
The new records for 2024
The all-time circuit lap record, which Luca Marini (Pertamina Enduro V46 Racing) set last year by stopping the clock at 1:29.978, has now been reduced to 1:29.088 thanks to Jorge Martin's performance in Q2.
Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo team) improved his own fastest lap time in the race from 1'30.906 to 1'30.539.
The Tissot Sprint reference time goes from 19'49.711 to 19'41.354. Francesco Bagnaia therefore reduced the duration by 8 seconds due to riding 0.6 seconds per lap on average faster than last year. The race duration of the Grand Prix goes from 41'20.293 to 41'04.389, 16 seconds less than in 2023. This record again confirms an improvement in performance of 0.6 seconds per lap on average compared to last year. This is a considerable improvement when we analyse all of the lap times, which remained stable from the start to the end of the race.
Note that Enea Bastianini clocked 318.5 km/h, and thus set the new speed record for the circuit.
The next round of MotoGP is the Motul Grand Prix of Japan, which will take place on the Twin Ring Motegi, from 4 to 6 October.
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