Fabio Di Giannantonio converted a damaging first-corner incident into third place in the Mandalika MotoGP Sprint. The VR46 rider had started from the outside of the front row, placing him on the inside line for Turn 1. He drew alongside Raul Fernandez and Marco Bezzecchi in the braking zone, just as Marc Marquez moved into the narrowing space between Di Giannantonio and Bezzecchi. Four riders therefore arrived at the opening corner together.

Di Giannantonio said he was struck by another rider, without identifying who was responsible. The impact forced his gear lever into first gear, so he exited the corner on the rev limiter and lost the acceleration needed to get away cleanly. Marquez had to lift his bike to avoid Di Giannantonio's rear. Bezzecchi then reacted to avoid Marquez and made contact with Fernandez's front wheel, sending both Aprilias to the ground.

Despite the loss of drive at the start, Di Giannantonio held fourth for most of the Sprint. He moved onto the podium with two laps remaining, when Jorge Martin ran wide. Martin had already lost the lead to Marquez because of tyre-pressure concerns before that mistake further changed the order.

Why the Aprilias were difficult to beat

Di Giannantonio considered his pace stronger through the slower sections of the circuit, while the Aprilias enjoyed a major traction advantage in the fast corners. He estimated that they were three or four tenths of a second quicker on race pace. That made his third place a strong recovery after a first-corner incident that had compromised his acceleration from the opening lap.

Marc Marquez won the Mandalika Sprint and took the lead of the MotoGP World Championship.