By Our Reporter
SHILLONG, March 20:Well it was worth the wait, wasn’t it? On a rain-soaked Sunday afternoon at the Pertamina Grand Prix of Indonesia, Miguel Oliveira (KTM) mastered the wet conditions to claim victory in Mandalika.
Reigning World Champion Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha) finished second ahead of compatriot Johann Zarco (Pramac Racing), as Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda) was forced to miss the race due to a concussion sustained in his huge Warm Up crash.
After over an hour delay to proceedings due to heavy rainfall in Lombok, for the first time in 25 years, it was lights out in Indonesia for the premier class.
Quartararo got an outstanding launch from pole position and comfortably collected the holeshot. Oliveira made a lightning start from P7 to grab P2, and Jack Miller (Ducati L) was swiftly up to P3 from P6 on the grid.
At the start of Lap 2, both Oliveira and Miller passed Quartararo.
Miller then picked off Oliveira for the race lead, as the top two started to break clear of third place Quartararo, who had Alex Rins (Team Suzuki), compatriot Zarco and a rapid starting Joan Mir (Team Suzuki) for company.
Rins and Zarco got the better of Quartararo, but they faced a 2.4s gap to Miller and Oliveira. The latter carved his way past the Ducati of Miller at Turn 12 on Lap 6 to retake the lead, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) somehow staying on his GP22 after a huge moment going into Turn 1. The Italian was down to P12 behind Pol Espargaro (Repsol Honda) and Brad Binder (KTM), with Championship leader Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) P20 from fifth on the grid – and struggling.
At half race distance, Zarco was the quickest rider on track. A quality move followed on Rins at Turn 12 for P3, and Miller wasn’t far up the road. Oliveira, however, was. 3.5s was now the Portuguese star’s advantage heading into the second half of the race.
Zarco was looking desperate to pass Miller, while just behind, Quartararo had found some great rhythm. El Diablo was back into P3 with five laps to go, as he and fellow Frenchman Zarco scrapped away.
Quartararo was the fastest rider on track and was back up to second on Lap 16 of 20. Zarco, eventually, followed the Yamaha man through to get the better of Miller, and with three laps to go, was a special comeback from Quartararo on the cards? The gap was slashed by a second on Lap 17, Oliveira’s lead was down to 3.4s – game on?
The last lap was completed without worry for Oliveira who claimed victory for the first time since the 2021 Catalan GP.