Marc Marquez outran Francesco Bagnaia to win a rain-hit San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday, whereas championship chief Jorge Martin’s gamble to swap bikes backfired when the climate cleared up.
Marquez’s masterclass in damp situations gave him his second victory in as many races after he gained the Aragon Grand Prix final weekend as he denied the Italian manufacturing unit Ducati staff a win on dwelling turf, with Enea Bastianini ending third.
Martin finally completed fifteenth after swapping bikes twice as he noticed his championship lead over Bagnaia lower all the way down to seven factors whereas Marquez is now 53 factors behind the Pramac Racing rider.
“For me, the most important was the speed after that rain, it gave me the possibility to lead the race. Then when I was leading I say, ‘Now I will try to find the same pace as the practice,'” Marquez stated.
“The emotions were super high when we crossed the line, I was super happy,” he added, dedicating the victory to the Gresini Racing staff’s late founder Fausto Gresini.
With the specter of rain looming, Martin had one other good begin – simply as he did to win Saturday’s dash – however this time Bagnaia was in a position to keep forward and retain the lead.
The pair practically collided on the second lap earlier than Martin braked onerous to keep away from contact whereas his teammate Franco Morbidelli broken Pedro Acosta’s wing when he overtook the GasGas Tech3 bike, with the rookie managing to maintain his stability.
But and not using a wing on one facet, Acosta discovered it tough to muscle his bike across the circuit and he finally slid off at flip 14 a few laps later earlier than rejoining the race, dropping from fourth to final place.
The rain quickly got here down with 21 laps to go, nonetheless, and Morbidelli was the primary to crash when he slid off the damp floor at flip one.
Martin rolls cube
Martin rolled the cube and led a bunch of riders into the pits to swap bikes however the rain all of a sudden appeared to clear up, with Marquez and Bagnaia opting to remain out on observe.
Soon after, Marquez got here into his personal and carved his approach by way of the pack to take the lead from Bagnaia, who was gingerly navigating his approach by way of the moist elements of the circuit.
But the rain stopped shortly and Martin was pressured to return again in to swap bikes once more for slick tires, with the crestfallen Spaniard shaking his head as he rejoined the race behind Marquez and Bagnaia however a full lap down.
With Bagnaia’s instant rival out of the image, the Italian selected to not take dangers, following Marquez cautiously whereas Bastianini moved as much as third on his acquainted dwelling circuit.
Out entrance, Marquez steadily elevated the hole to Bagnaia and the Spaniard took the chequered flag to spark celebrations within the Gresini Racing storage.
“Today more (better) than second was impossible. Marc was too in shape to try and attempt and try to win. Maybe next time I will be fully fit and I can have a chance,” stated Bagnaia, nonetheless feeling the consequences of a crash on the Aragon Grand Prix.
“But Marc in these conditions is for sure very strong, so we will try again next time.”
Source: www.dailysabah.com