No-one was indifferent to the thrilling Indonesian Grand Prix. In the opinion of Alex Criville, former rider and champion in the now-extinct 500cc category – now MotoGP – it was one of the most exciting races of recent times.
‘It was one of the most exciting races this season. If it’s true that on saturday, after winning the Sprint, Jorge Martin was the main candidate to win, unfortunately the joy was short-lived. Bagnaia was very consistent, he knew how to manage the race and the tyres worked perfectly and helped him return to the lead. We should point out that Pecco started in 13th place, which made life very difficult for him, but he still managed to recover and keep his concentration until the last moment. Under pressure and despite the circumstances, it’s not easy to win. What he did was admirable’ commented the former rider.
Despite the 18-point cushion that Pecco has over Martinator with five races to go, anything can happen, Criville believes.
‘It was a shame for Jorge Martin to crash when he was leading, nobody likes to go through that. The world championship is very exciting and will be won by the rider who best manages the pressure on and off the track. Vinãles’ second place was sensational. We couldn’t have asked for more. It was motorcycling in its purest form’, he told the daily Marca.