Marquez wins again while Martin makes disastrous gamble

Gresini Ducati rider Marc Marquez made the most of uncertain conditions to win the San Marino Grand Prix at Misano, as Pecco Bagnaia took a huge chunk out of Jorge Martin's points lead.

A disastrous decision to pit for a bike change took Martin out of the battle out front in an instant, and reduced his points lead from 26 points at the start of the day to just seven.

After a full weekend of dry running, MotoGP riders were met by rain on the grid - albeit only a trickle initially, enough for it to be declared a wet race but not enough to meaningfully alter the pace of the early laps.

In those early laps Martin, having got a great start again and cleared Pramac team-mate Franco Morbidelli, attempted to power himself into the lead again but only ended up nearly crashing into Bagnaia at Turn 2.

THAT WAS SCARY between the top title contenders! 😱@88jorgemartin in hot pursuit 🔥#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 pic.twitter.com/4ToSvAkSTX

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 8, 2024

Having checked up massively, Martin dropped to half a second back from Bagnaia - while triggering a concertina effect behind him that a couple of corners later led to Pedro Acosta slamming into Morbidelli's Ducati and doing damage to his KTM's aero bits.

Debris flying!

Contact between @37_pedroacosta and @FrankyMorbido12 💥#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 pic.twitter.com/dKy8vpK5Pm

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 8, 2024

It was looking straightforward for Bagnaia at that point - but a handful of laps later rain suddenly picked up, and Martin was immediately back on him, with the rest of the pack closing up.

With sections of the track appearing wet Martin chose to duck into the pits to switch to his second bike with wet tyres on - and, looking around as he did so, he realised that none of his fellow frontrunners had followed his cue.

HERE WE GO! @88jorgemartin has seen enough and HE SWAPS BIKES! 🔄🏍️#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 pic.twitter.com/jFfDfy5t4Q

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 8, 2024

They were right, and he was wrong. Bagnaia, now in position to make up massive ground in the standings, was pacing himself gingerly enough on the next lap for the top eight to be split by a second at one point. He was overtaken by Marquez for the lead - Marquez having picked off Brad Binder’s KTM for second just one corner prior - but the rain abated just as quickly and the track was soon all but completely dry.

Soon enough, Martin had to pit again to get back on the slicks. He rejoined the race just in time to go a lap down, albeit as high as 15th thanks to some of the backmarkers having rolled the dice when he did.

Out front, Bagnaia even briefly looked like maximising the damage to Martin's points lead - but his challenge against Marquez was ultimately short-lived, and with Marquez running even faster than he had been in the sprint on Saturday, Bagnaia soon threw in the towel.

Marquez - running a special livery in tribute to Gresini's late founder Fausto Gresini - therefore took a second grand prix win on a Ducati just a week after ending his long victory drought.

Behind Marquez and Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini completed the podium, having at one point threatened to join the lead battle before dropping back.

Binder and KTM team-mate Jack Miller were among those benefitting from the brief rainfall, and Binder eventually converted it into a fourth-place finish after clearing Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati).

VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi, who had dropped back from the front row, also overtook the younger Marquez late on for fifth, the latter just narrowly hanging on to the place against Yamaha's Fabio Quartararo.

Miller settled for eighth, with Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46 Ducati) and wildcard Pol Espargaro (KTM) having lonely rides to ninth and 10th.

Some late pressure from Aprilia's Maverick Vinales - who, like Martin, had rolled the dice on wet tyres - nearly added insult to injury for Martin, but the championship leader held on for 15th and one point.

Rain is falling heavier 🌧️

And @FrankyMorbido12 is OUT of contention at T1 💥#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 pic.twitter.com/GyNwdlDHKm

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 8, 2024

Vinales' team-mate Aleix Espargaro retired in the pits soon after his wet-weather gamble failed, while Morbidelli and Augusto Fernandez (Tech3 Gas Gas) had crashed out as the rain picked up.

Also crashing - slightly earlier - was Acosta, seemingly compromised by the damage to his Gas Gas-badged RC16 bike.

OH NO! 💔@37_pedroacosta has gone down at Turn 14 💥

The Spaniard quickly gets up and rejoins 🔄#SanMarinoGP 🇸🇲 pic.twitter.com/xyuvEtWUR6

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) September 8, 2024