-Pecco Bagnania finishes second
- Enea Bastianini was P3
-Jorge Martin crosses the line in P15
The twists and turns in the 2024 MotoGP World Championship continue as the San Marino GP served more drama than expected. With dark rain clouds looming over the circuit, race direction declared the race as a flag to flag. This meant riders were allowed to come into the pits and change to bikes with wet weather tyres, if it rained. In the end, Marc Marquez emerged victorious, and this is how it went.
A game of wit and faith
As the race began, Pole sitter Pecco Baganaia made a good start and placed his factory Ducati at the head of the field, going into Turn One. Jorge Martin on the Prima Pramac Ducati overtook his teammate, Franco Morbidelli quickly and slotted into P2, setting in hot pursuit of Baganaia. The duo almost collided a few laps later but these were crucial points for Pecco and he wasn’t relenting.
And then, the rain fell. It was a short spell but enough to prompt Jorge Martin to come into the pits to swap bikes. The rest of the field, including Baganaia, stayed out on track. This turned out to be a huge gamble for Martin but unfortunately, it did not pay off. It stopped raining a few laps later.
With a drying line, the wet weather tyres were fading and Martin was off the pace by a huge margin. He had to come into the pits once again and swap for a bike with slicks. By the time he rejoined, he was far down the order.
After salvaging a point in P15, his 26-point lead over Baganaia in the Championship at the start of the race shrunk to seven points, following Pecco’s P2 finish. The Championship is still wide open and it’ll be interesting to see what happens next.
Marc the Magician
Marc Marquez was the master of San Marino as he rode with nothing to lose. He stayed out when the rain fell and quickly overtook Pecco for the lead, after dealing with Jack Miller on the KTM. Once he hit the front, Marc was in his element as he rode his heart out.
The Spaniard’s speed was such that he crossed the line over three seconds clear of Pecco who was careful to capitalise on Martin’s mistake and shorten the gap by staying in P2 and not pushing to catch Martin.
The next round of the 2024 MotoGP World Championship will be the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix which will be held from 20-22 September at the Misano World Circuit Marco Simoncelli.
