You can’t win a world championship on MotoGP’s annual tour of Asia, but history shows you can lose it.

Jorge Martin knows that all too well. And MotoGP touching down in Lombok this week for the Indonesian Grand Prix brought last year’s bad memories back in crystal-clear focus.

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Last year, the Spaniard took the lead of the MotoGP championship for the first time all season – the first time in his career – with a storming win from sixth on the grid in the 13-lap sprint. It was a lead that didn’t last 24 hours, and one he never reclaimed.

Cruising out front with a three-second lead in the following day’s Grand Prix, Martin inexplicably crashed from the lead under no pressure. When title rival Francesco Bagnaia came from 13th on the grid to win – no rider had won from further back in a dry race since 2006 – Martin lost his advantage, then his composure, and finally his way.

One week later in Australia, Martin rolled the dice by using Michelin’s soft-compound rear tyre in the race, which looked like a stroke of genius when he led for 26 laps, and like madness when he plummeted to fifth on fading rubber on the 27th and final lap as then-Pramac Ducati teammate Johann Zarco swept past to take his maiden MotoGP win.

It took four more races for Martin to eliminate himself from the title chase when he crashed at the Valencia season finale, but the die was cast in Indonesia six weeks earlier, a wobble from which he never recovered.

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Martin losing the championship as the series swept through Indonesia, Japan, Thailand and Malaysia – with a stop at Phillip Island in that mix – repeated the trend of 2022, the first time the series managed a full calendar again after two covid-compromised schedules.

That year, Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo entered the Asian leg with a 10-point lead, and left it with a 23-point deficit to Bagnaia and his 2021 title defence as good as in the bin.

The ‘flyaways’, as this section of the season is curiously referred to – with a 20-round calendar, most events require a flight to get to these days – represents the most level playing field of the year with tracks riders never see other than once a year and only two riders, Australia’s Jack Miller and Japan’s Takaaki Nakagami, having home races.

It’s a gruelling six-week run on the road, a time where momentum can evaporate in a moment of lost concentration, and one where the smallest of mistakes can snowball into bigger consequences. Martin would concur.

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DON’T THINK, DO – MARTIN’S NEW MOTTO

While Martin was keen to turn the page on last Sunday’s controversial end to the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at Misano, where he was elbowed aside for the win by fellow Ducati rider Enea Bastianini on the final lap, the Spaniard didn’t duck the inevitable questions about returning to the scene of last year’s Indonesian slip-off.

“I don’t agree 100 per cent because I think it was over the limit,” he said of Bastianini’s overtake, which wasn’t even looked at by the race stewards, let alone penalised.

“For me, there’s no sense to keep talking about the past, but it’s OK. At the end I need to respect the stewards’ decision, so congratulations to Enea, I will try here.”

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Martin has been a model of consistency this season – he’s finished 22 of 28 starts on the podium and had just three non-finishes, none since crashing out of the lead of the German Grand Prix in July. The Spaniard hasn’t won a Grand Prix since Le Mans in May, but has built a 24-point championship lead by trying to stay in the moment as much as possible.

“For me it’s quite simple – the more pressure I have or the more difficult things become, I try to be more focused on riding and my feelings,” he said.

“If I start thinking too much, I start making mistakes. That’s the way I try to avoid that pressure.

“Last season [in Indonesia] I was strong … I was leading by three seconds, so maybe I was too optimistic in the race. But I feel I can be as competitive as usual so I hope to [be] head down, keep the same level, keep the consistency all the weekend. I will try to be more concentrated, keep as I’ve been these last weeks.”

NO TIME FOR CAUTION, SAYS BAGNAIA

Where Bagnaia was metronomically consistent last year while Martin squandered points, 2024 has seen the same two title contenders go head to head for much of the season, but with their roles from last year reversed.

Bagnaia has already won as many Grands Prix (seven) as he did in his 2022 and 2023 title-winning year with six rounds remaining, but his 24-point deficit to Martin is almost entirely made up of podiums thrown away with crashes, four of his non-finishes this year coming from falls when running inside the top three.

Last Sunday’s crash on lap 21 at Misano came after he’d led from pole, faded after losing the lead on lap four and then stormed back towards Martin and Bastianini at the head of the field before a front-end lose at Turn 8 saw him on the ground, and critical of tyre supplier Michelin in the aftermath.

“About what happened with the pace, it’s difficult to say something,” Bagnaia said on Thursday in Indonesia.

“The start of the race was very difficult to push. I was not having a great feeling with the rear tyre. We spoke a lot with Michelin, we tried to work together like always to develop and improve together.

“The crash, it’s something that not the first time it’s happened. It was my mistake, but as soon as you are not pushing that hard on the brakes and your bike is more aligned, it’s easier to lose the front.

“But it’s something we already saw this season. It was a strange Sunday because I was feeling super good all the weekend, [but in the race I was struggling a lot to repeat the same pace I was doing in practice.

PIT TALK PODCAST: In the Indonesian GP preview episode of ‘Pit Talk’, hosts Renita Vermeulen and Matt Clayton look ahead to MotoGP’s return to Mandalika, reflect on the crazy 2023 race that tipped the title scales in Francesco Bagnaia’s favour, and assess which of Aprilia or KTM could emerge to challenge the all-conquering Ducatis this weekend.

Facing a deficit in the standings – and knowing he’d thrown away points on several occasions this year – wasn’t cause for a change of approach, Bagnaia said.

“I’m now 24 points behind … it’s not a lot, but it’s also not a few,” he added.

“I still need to approach this part of the season in an aggressive way, and after these [next] two races [in Indonesia and Japan] I will maybe change my strategy. But at the moment, I have to push a lot.”

MILLER: ENGINE SHIFT SHOWS YAMAHA’S HUNGER

Jack Miller says Yamaha’s decision to develop a V4 engine behind the scenes ahead of MotoGP’s regulation reset for 2027 shows the Japanese manufacturer isn’t willing to “wait around” as it begins a long climb out of the sport’s basement.

At last weekend’s Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix, Yamaha boss Lin Jarvis confirmed Yamaha has been developing a V4 engine – currently used by Ducati, Honda, Aprilia and KTM – with an aim to potentially using it as a replacement for its inline-four engine configuration even with MotoGP’s change from 1000cc power plants to 850cc engines in three years’ time.

Since Suzuki withdrew from MotoGP at the end of 2022, Yamaha is the only manufacturer to have persisted with the inline-four design, a period where the perennial powerhouse has fallen to the foot of the field with fellow Japanese giant Honda since Quartararo won the 2021 MotoGP title.

Miller, who will ride a Yamaha for the first time in his 11th MotoGP season when he renews ties with former team Pramac Racing next season, said Yamaha’s ambition was exciting as a new rider coming into a project along with current Aprilia rider Miguel Oliveira, who has also ridden for KTM.

“Miguel has had a lot of experience on the V4, [Quartararo’s teammate Alex] Rins has only had the one year on a V4, so I think they’ve got a good blend of riders with experience on both,” Miller said of next year.

“If we’re talking about experience on a V4 … I feel like I’ve got some knowledge there I can help with, especially with rideability and so on. I feel like I’m pretty sensitive [in] understanding what’s going on with connection between throttle and rear tyre and how I want the bike to perform in that area.

“Because of the engine changing [in 2027], you’re going to have to design a whole new engine again … but this means that they’re hungry. They’re willing to develop an engine that’s only going to be here for two years at the most. They don’t want to just wait around for two years to see what happens, they want to make forward steps.

“It’s exciting as a future prospect for me, because it means they’re super-focused and super-motivated to get the project back to where it belongs.”

MOTOGP TRIES – AGAIN – FOR LONGEST SEASON YET

The announcement of the 2025 MotoGP calendar on Thursday marked the third successive season series promoters Dorna have scheduled a record number of races, and Dorna chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta remains confident the entire 22-race schedule can be completed next year despite some events being listed as subject to confirmation, and after three scheduled rounds this season were either postponed or cancelled altogether.

India, which debuted in 2023, was delayed from its September date this year until 2025 and then left off next year’s calendar altogether for “operational considerations”, provisionally postponed to 2026.

Brno in the Czech Republic – back on the schedule for the first time since 2020 – requires a track resurface before being confirmed for its July 2025 date, while the new Balaton Park circuit outside of Budapest, scheduled to host the first Hungarian Grand Prix since 1992, needs “significant changes” to take its late August date next year.

On India, Ezpeleta said the deadline to publish next year’s calendar necessitated a further delay to the Buddh International Circuit’s return.

“We continue to think there is tremendous potential [in India] but we have agreed the best way forward is to postpone it,” he said.

India – along with Argentina and Kazakhstan – were either postponed or fell by the wayside this season, with back-to-back races at Misano this month required to get the calendar to the minimum 20-race requirement to satisfy the sport’s contracts with broadcast partners.

The Termas de Rio Honda track in Argentina – which came onto the schedule in 2014 – has been named as round two next season in March, while Kazakhstan, first named to debut on the 2023 calendar, was a notable absentee from the 2025 calendar.

Red Bull Racing has lost another key member of staff, with head of race strategy Will Courtenay set to defect to title rival McLaren as sporting director.

Courtenay has worked at Milton Keynes for more than 20 years, having joined Jaguar as a systems engineer in 2003 before the team was bought by Red Bull.

He was promoted to strategy engineer for Red Bull Racing’s 2025 debut and rose to head of race strategy in 2010.

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Today he forms part of a tripartite strategy team including principal strategy engineer Hannah Schmitz and senior strategy engineer Stephen Knowles.

Courtenay is contracted to Red Bull Racing until the middle of 2026 but could be released earlier after negotiations with McLaren.

“We are delighted to welcome Will to McLaren,” team principal Andrea Stella said. “His experience, professionalism and passion for motorsport make him the ideal candidate to lead our F1 sporting function.

“We are now entering a key phase in our journey as a team, and we are confident that he will be a great addition to our strong leadership team as we strive to continue challenging for wins and championships.“

Courtenay, who McLaren said will “add further depth to the team’s sporting operation and will help drive performance within the racing team”, will report to racing director Randeep Singh, who has also been sporting and strategy director since 2020.

A Red Bull Racing spokesperson told the BBC: “After a long and successful service, being with the team since the Jaguar days, we are sad to see Will go but wish him all the best in this step up.”

Courtenay’s impending arrival is part of an ongoing reorganisation of McLaren that began with Stella’s elevation to team principal at the end of 2022 and the sacking of former technical director James Key early the following season.

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Chief designer Rob Marshall was poached from Red Bull Racing around the same time and began work at the start of this year.

Peter Prodromou, also an RBR alumnus, was promoted to technical director for aerodynamics, and McLaren loyalist Neil Houldey became technical director for engineering.

Stella’s restructuring efforts have seen the team rocket from fielding the slowest car on the grid at the beginning of 2023 to taking top spot in the constructors championship earlier this month.

The team now leads Red Bull Racing by 41 points in the race for the teams title.

The coincidence of timing makes this a bitter blow to Red Bull Racing and doubly sweet for McLaren, which will not only strengthen its own ranks but will do so by weakening its chief championship rival.

Courtenay is the latest in a growing line of senior Red Bull Racing figures leaving the team just as it should have been consolidating itself at the top of the standings before the next set of rule changes in 2026.

In May legendary designer Adrian Newey announced he was quitting the team, with Aston Martin since revealed to be his 2025 destination.

That news was followed by the announcement that long-time sporting director Jonathan Wheatley will leave at the end of the year to join the future Audi team as principal.

The brain drain since the team’s first title-winning era of 2010–14 has also seen it lose Mark Ellis to Mercedes and Prodromou to McLaren in 2014.

Dan Fallows, former chief aero engineer, joined Aston Martin in 2022, while Marshall left for McLaren at the beginning of this year.

Only team principal Christian Horner and chief engineer Paul Monaghan remain among the Red Bull Racing founding staff.

Red Bull Racing will undertake a restructure of its racing department at the end of the year to cover Wheatley’s end-of-season departure, splitting his sporting director role across several different positions.

From next year Gianpiero Lambiase, Max Verstappen’s race engineer, will add head of racing to his responsibilities, while Steve Knowles, one of the team’s remaining two strategists, will become head of sporting regulations.

Richard Wolverson will become head of race team operations, Gerrard O’Reilly becomes head of logistics, and Phil Turner moves from chief mechanic to race team factory operations manager.

The team’s ability to emerge from this troubled season and contend successfully in 2025 is increasingly viewed as critical to retaining Verstappen to the end of his contract, which runs to 2028.

The Dutchman’s continuity has been cast into doubt several times this year, mostly by his father, Jos Verstappen, who forms part of his management team.

Red Bull Racing is also embroiled in a driver management conundrum, with confirmation expected that it will drop Daniel Ricciardo from RB from the upcoming United States Grand Prix to field New Zealander Liam Lawson for the rest of the season.

If Lawson impresses, as he did in his five-race cameo late last year, he could be a contender to replace Sergio Pérez in 2025, whose underperformance this year has almost single-handedly cost the team the constructors championship lead.