Marquez masters Misano, Martin makes big blunder

Winning is a habit for Marc Marquez once again as he went back to back in a tense wet-dry San Marino Motorcycle Grand Prix where Jorge Martin floundered.

Marquez showed his skills in changing conditions and charged from ninth to first in just eight laps, leaving Francesco Bagnaia to settle for second.

However, the Italian still gained significant ground on championship leader Jorge Martin, who paid dearly for misjudging the conditions.

With rain arriving Martin sacrificed second to change bikes, but the gamble did not pay off and the track dried, forcing the #89 to return to the pits yet again.

At the end of a frustrating day Martin could only manage 15th, seeing Bagnaia slash the deficit from 26 to seven points.

Australia’s Jack Miller fought his way into the top three for a period, but dropped late in the race to eighth.

Bagnaia was determined to fire back and regain some ground after falling second best to Martin in the Sprint.

Under gloomy skies, Bagnaia and Morbedelli got strong launches to lead the field, but by the time they got to Rio, Martin snatched second from his teammate.

Marc Marquez was a man on a mission and made some aggressive moves to be charging towards the top five, while Miller looked settled in seventh.

At the start of the second lap Martin tried to make a move on Bagnaia for the lead, but had to back out to avoid contact.

A clash could not be avoided when Acosta aimed to have a look at Morbidelli for third and the Tech3 rider lost a winglet.

A third attempt on Lap 3 at the end of the back straight proved to be successful for Acosta, only for the rookie to sacrifice the position on the following corner.

It was a clear sign the youngster was battling with limited aero and he ended up firing off at Turn 13.

The first signs of rain were there for all to see by Lap 7 when Morbedelli crashed out of the top five and his teammate slashed Bagnaia’s lead.

The #89 was the first to roll the dice and pit for a bike change to a wet setup on the following lap.

Incredibly he was the only rider of the lead bunch to box and dropped to 15th with the rain suddenly stopping as Binder, Bastianini, the Marquez brothers, Miller, Quartararo and Bezzecchi had suddenly caught Bagnaia.

The rider who was finding the most grip in the mixed conditions was Marc Marquez, who in the blink of an eye shot from fifth to first.

He completed his charge to the top with a bold and daring move on the #1 at the final corner, where Miller also produced a special dive to snatch third from his teammate.

It was a vital move as Binder battled to stay in the top five, while the Australian built a small gap to cement third.

In the space of only three laps, the track had dried and Martin realised his costly call and returned to the pits to change bikes yet again.

By the time the Pramac team had finished getting the dry bike ready, the #89 lost 15th to Rins, but more importantly dropped a lap down.

Miller could not quite keep up with the leading pair and lost third on Lap 12 when Bastianini breezed by at Quercia.

At the same corner three laps later Alex Marquez also demoted Miller, while teammate Binder then knocked the #43 out of the top five.

The fight for the lead also fizzled out with Marc Marquez putting the hammer down in the final 10 laps and easing more than a second into the distance.

There was still action in the minors however, with Binder getting by Alex Marquez for fourth, while both Bezzecchi and Quartararo passed Miller and Martin reclaimed 15th.

The VR46 rider also made a late lunge on Alex Marquez to secure a hard fought top five on home turf.

A fortnight later MotoGP once again races at Misano replacing the cancelled Indian Grand Prix.

Photo by Gold and Goose / LAT Images

San Marino Motorcycle Grand Prix results

READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF AUTO ACTION HERE

Don’t forget the print edition of Auto Action available via subscription here. For more of the latest motorsport news, subscribe to AUTO ACTION magazine.