The Moto3 riders faced a tough 20 laps at the Mandalika circuit, with the wind repeatedly changing direction in addition to the usual hot and humid conditions found in Indonesia.

At the sharp end of the grid, home-hero Veda Pratama (Honda Team Asia) and the Leopard Racing duo of Adrian Fernandez and Guido Pini all had strong starts to the race and immediately made their presence felt in the battle for the podium. As the field started to break up into smaller groups, it was Fernandez who looked to be the strongest Honda rider, staying within the group of three riders chasing down the race leader.

Unfortunately, the Spaniard was caught up in another rider’s crash, which resulted in some damage to his bike and dropped him to the group behind, which contained Pratama and Pini. The trio worked hard in the closing stages but were unable to close the gap to those in front. At the chequered flag it was Pratama who claimed top Honda honours finishing in front of his home fans in sixth place, with Fernandez seventh and Pini eighth. Rivacold Snipers Team’s Jesus Rios was also able to finish inside the points in 15^th place.

Further back it proved to be a difficult race for Honda Team Asia’s Zen Mitani, who received a grid penalty, Kiattisak Singhapong (Rivacold Snipers Team) and GRYD Racing’s Eddie O’Shea, who also received a grid penalty. The lightweight trio ended the race in 16^th, 17^th and 19^th places respectively. There was heartbreak for Joel Kelso (GRYD Racing), who had made good progress in the race and was challenging for the top-ten, with a Turn 10 crash ending his day on the final lap. There were also DNFs for the SIC58 Squadra Corse pairing of Casey O’Gorman and Leo Rammerstorfer, who both experienced Turn 4 crashes on Lap 3.

The Moto3 riders will now have a short break before they tackle a triple-header of events in Australia, Malaysia and Qatar, which will kick off at Phillip Island on 23-25 October.