Marc Marquez won back-to-back races for the first time in three years with an opportunistic victory in a dramatic San Marino Grand Prix, with the six-time MotoGP world champion taking advantage of poor weather and a disastrous error of judgment from series leader Jorge Martin to storm to the top in his 61st Grand Prix victory.
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From ninth on the grid, after a crash in qualifying, the Gresini Ducati rider shot to the front as light rain hit the Misano circuit on seven laps of the 27-lap race, while world championship protagonists Francesco Bagnaia and Martin battled for the lead.
Martin, who came into the race with a 26-point lead in the championship after winning Saturday’s sprint race, opted to pit for wet tires on lap seven as the majority of the front runners remained on track to to defy the circumstances.
Martin’s gamble backfired spectacularly when the rain stopped almost immediately. The Spaniard returned to the pits for his dry weather bike two laps later and finished a distant 15th, one lap down.
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As the track became increasingly slippery, Marquez moved past Bagnaia into the lead on lap eight and never recovered. The 31-year-old won by 3.102 seconds from Bagnaia, who cut Martin’s championship lead to seven points after the Spaniard extended his lead. margin by winning Saturday’s sprint race, which was held in dry conditions.
“For me the most important thing after that rain was the speed,” said Marquez, who admitted he had nothing to lose when the track turned damp.
“Of course that rain gave me the opportunity to lead the race, and then when I lead the race I say, ‘Okay, I’ll try to find the same pace as in training.’ The emotions were super high when we crossed the line.”
Bagnaia’s Ducati teammate Enea Bastianini moved up from eighth on the grid to third after Martin’s Pramac Racing teammate Franco Morbidelli, who had qualified second of the season, crashed out of the podium when rain first hit the circuit ended up on lap seven.
Australian Jack Miller stormed to the front with Marquez from twelfth on the grid as the rain fell. The KTM rider moved up to third on lap eight before dropping to eighth at the checkered flag, 19.327 seconds behind Marquez for his second race. best Grand Prix result of the season after finishing fifth in Portugal on the second round.
Martin (312 points) leads Bagnaia (305) at the top of the standings after 13 events on the 20-round calendar, with Marquez’s back-to-back wins putting him within 53 points of the championship lead ahead of the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix on the same Misano circuit on September 22.
