Marquez triumphs in San Marino to claim second successive MotoGP win

Marc Marquez snatched the lead from Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia halfway through the San Marino GP to cruise to victory, pulling off back-to-back MotoGP wins to catapult himself into the title fight.

Light rain threw a spanner in the works during the race as multiple riders faced tricky conditions in the opening stages which compromised their medium tyres, forcing them into the pits for bike changes which did not fare too well.

As rainfall slightly increased, Jorge Martin suffered a poor strategic decision that sent him to the pits twice for separate bike changes and left him a lap down along with four other riders.

Marc Marquez then found himself in the lead after jumping a vulnerable Bagnaia in the rain, pulling 3.1 seconds away from the Italian, who settled for second. Enea Bastianini rounded off the podium after holding off Brad Binder and Marco Bezzecchi in a fierce battle for third.

Bagnaia began well, redeeming his slow start in the Sprint yesterday, going on to lead the pack heading into turn one. Opening lap chaos unfolded as light rain began to hinder the medium tyres donned by a majority of the grid, with Franco Morbidelli narrowly avoiding Pedro Acosta in the middle sector.

The track’s famously smooth surface became slippery around the corners and riders began sliding around the Misano World Circuit, including Marquez, who avoided Bezzecchi heading into the middle sector.

Title rivals Bagnaia and Martin also almost made contact, cutting it extremely tight around the narrow exit of turn 14 on the opening lap. As the rain began to fall heavier on the track, Acosta slid off the track at the same turn on the hunt for Bastianini while Martin followed just a lap later.

Martin running wide at turn 13 seemed to throw the team off, fleeing to the pits on lap seven for a bike change with the slick tyres, abandoning his second place behind Bagnaia.

This ill-fated decision proved to be disastrous for Martin – but marvellous for Marquez – falling to 15th from second as the field bunched up in the rain.

Marquez managed to capitalise on the situation and jump a vulnerable Bagnaia for the lead on lap nine while Martin suffered in 15th, forcing him back into the pits.

A second poor bike change put the championship leader a lap down to the frontrunners while Marquez and Bagnaia pulled far away from the rest of the pack.

The Spaniard cruised to victory after the overtake, pulling 3.1 seconds away from Bagnaia to claim his second successive win in San Marino after a 1043-day win drought before his dreamy Aragon weekend last time out.

Marquez said: “For me the most important was the speed after the rain, of course the rain gave me the possibility to lead the race, but when I led the race I thought ‘okay, now I will try to find the same pace as practice.’

“The emotions were super high when we crossed the line I was super happy and today somebody from the sky ‘dropped a bit’ and told me lead the race, and pull away. That victory is for all the Gresini family.”

There were smiles all around for the Gresini family as Alex Marquez climbed up to sixth place and snagged the team some much-needed points for the championship.

Bagnaia, on the other hand, was dissatisfied with settling for second place after following on from a poor weekend in Aragon and poor Sprint start yesterday. The reigning world champion hoped to pull one back on Martin and take the 25 points to cut the gap down, but Marquez has come back in full force to assert himself in the title fight.

Bagnaia said: “For sure better than yesterday – yesterday the chance to have victory was there and I didn’t take it. Today, more than second was impossible. Marc was too in shape to try to win – maybe next time I’ll be fully fit and I can have a chance.

“Marc in this condition is very strong so we will try again next time, but without the rain the gap I was taking was less than what happened today; 20 clean points is okay.”

In better news for Bagnaia, Martin managed to only score one point in the race – so the chance of him running away with a 50-point lead has gone out of the window. Martin finished the race in 15th after falling a lap down, but still retains the slender championship lead ahead of Bagnaia.

One Italian home hero, Bastianini, walked away happy, earning a glorious podium on home soil after engaging in a fierce three-way battle with Binder and Bezzecchi.

Bastianini set personal best laps throughout the race as the fastest man on track, climbing up to third place from eighth and holding off the two charging riders. The Italian was one of the many who stayed out on track and waited out the rain, knowing that it would pass, rather than rushing to the pits for a premature bike change.

Bastianini said: “It’s been very difficult GP for me because I started from behind, but when I saw the chance to close the gap from the leading group when there was a little bit of rain, I tried to close.

“I fought also for the victory but I was already tired because this morning I didn’t feel very well. But I am happy with a podium at home, it’s always special and thanks to all my team, the fans, and the sponsors.”

It’s been a lovely two weekends for Marc Marquez. From earning his first redemption victory on home soil in Aragon after a 1043-day drought to beating the reigning champion to victory in San Marino today, Marquez has certainly proven he still has what it takes.

Despite a crash in qualifying that placed him in a starting position of ninth, Marquez managed to make up three places in the opening lap. He then capitalised on the rainy conditions and chaos to overtake Bagnaia for the lead, speeding off into the distance and showing his skills in the tricky conditions.

In a race where many riders made crucial mistakes, Marquez pulled through and earned back-to-back wins in MotoGP. His three victories in the last two weekends have catapulted him right into the title fight, sitting just 46 points behind Bagnaia in the standings.

1/27 OPENING LAP CHAOS – Bagnaia redeemed his slow start from the Sprint yesterday by launching off the line to hold off a charging Martin, climbing up to second place. But as the rain falls on the narrow track, several drivers either made contact or cut it extremely close around the tight corners.

7/27 MARTIN OPTS FOR BIKE CHANGE – Martin ran wide at turn 13 on lap seven, forcing him to flee to the pits for a bike change as the rain begins to fall heavier.

10/27 MARQUEZ USURPS BAGNAIA WHILE MARTIN FACES DISASTER – The field bunched together and Marquez capitalised on the situation to overtake Bagnaia for the lead. Then, a shocking decision saw Martin return to the pits for a second time to switch back to his original bike, dropping a lap behind the frontrunners.

16/27 LAPPED RIDERS SUFFER IN DRY CONDITIONS – Five riders are a lap down, including the championship leader Martin, Maverick Vinales, Acosta and more after a series of poor strategic decisions led them to the pitlane while the rest of the pack waited out the rain.

27/27 MARQUEZ PUTS IN BACK-TO-BACK WINS ON SUNDAY – Marquez wins the San Marino GP, pulling off back-to-back wins in MotoGP after doing the double in Aragon last weekend. Marquez pulled 3.2 seconds away from Bagnaia after jumping him halfway through the race.