Marco Bezzecchi
Marc Marquez will miss the next two MotoGP races after his crash at the Indonesian Grand Prix, but things could have been much worse if not for Brad Binder.
The Ducati rider had a difficult weekend at Mandalika after he crashed twice in practice and qualified ninth on the grid. Marquez has never finished the Indonesian Grand Prix, and that streak continued in 2025.
Marco Bezzecchi took out Marquez at turn seven on the opening lap. The Aprilia rider misjudged an overtake after he fell back from pole position, colliding with the rear of the Spaniard’s bike.
The resulting collision sent the pair flying into the gravel trap, with Bezzecchi and Marquez heading to the medical centre. The latter landed heavily on his right arm, with the Spaniard stating that he felt he had damaged the ligaments in his collarbone.
Marquez will fly to Madrid to undergo further checks, with Ducati confirming that he will not be racing in Australia and Malaysia. It was a nasty-looking accident and injury, but it could have been ‘even worse’.
Brad Binder saved Marc Marquez from an ‘even worse’ injury after complaining about Mandalika gravel traps
Several MotoGP riders had been complaining about the gravel traps around the Mandalika circuit. It was this that caused such a violent impact on Marquez as he fell off the track in the race.
Brad Binder was among the most vocal riders about the issue. In fact, according to journalist Simon Patterson, the KTM rider had complained to the track’s bosses, which resulted in the gravel traps being smoothed out.
“Another thing that there has been a bit of consternation about tonight, though, is that the gravel trap made this whole thing a whole lot worse,” said Patterson via The Race MotoGP Podcast.
“We spoke to Joan Mir who was right behind the two of them when they crashed and he was like: ‘Yeah, Bez’s fault, not a huge error. These things happen in racing.’
“But everything was okay until Marc hit the huge step up from the track into the gravel trap, basically. And Bez was still on the bike until he hit that and then he went airborne after he hit it as well.
“So that kind of made everything a whole lot worse. I think that’s probably where Marc did his collarbone, [it] was on that kind of transition across.
“Definitely a Safety Committee topic for next week in Phillip Island because apparently, I spoke to Brad Binder and he walked the track on Thursday and said it was even bigger and they complained about it and they got it smoothed out a bit. So it could have been even worse.”
READ MORE: Everything to know about Brad Binder from career stats to wife
Brad Binder recorded his best result of 2025 at the Indonesian Grand Prix
It was a brilliant weekend for KTM at Mandalika, as Pedro Acosta grabbed a podium in second. Teammate Binder recorded his best finish of the season with fourth.
The South African rider was in contention for a podium as he battled several riders for P2 while Fermin Aldeguer stormed to victory. In the end, he came up short as Alex Marquez beat him to the final podium spot.
Binder endured a ‘very tricky’ Sprint race on Saturday as he struggled with the tyres. But he appeared more patient in the longer format as he scored a strong result.
KTM made a last-minute ‘change’ to Binder’s setup, which improved his feeling from the front of the RC16. He will certainly take a lot of confidence heading into the next race at Phillip Island.
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