After Marc Marquez crashed out of the race while leading late in the Spanish Grand Prix sprint in Jerez on Saturday, Jorge Martin increased his lead in the MotoGP standings.
Nine riders failed to finish, while another six had to remount, with teenage novice Pedro Acosta finishing second in the championship race.
Former world champion Fabio Quartararo started the race in 23rd place out of 25, but the field was so dispersed after the incident that he crossed the finish line in third place.
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However, insufficient tire pressure resulted in the Frenchman losing eight seconds and dropping to fifth, costing Yamaha their first podium finish of the year.
Three more riders received identical punishments: Jack Miller, Fabio Di Giannantonio, and Raul Fernandez (demoted from sixth to 12th).
Spanish veteran Dani Pedrosa, 38, who is competing for KTM as a wild card, surged up to third position, ahead of Ducati-Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli, an Italian, in fourth.
The route, which was slick from the morning’s rain, was frequently characterized by riders as difficult.
In his on-track interview, Martin characterized the race as “a difficult one, with extremely hard track conditions.”
Martin and Marquez began on the front row, with Marquez scoring his first pole since switching to Ducati Gresini, but South
Brad Binder, an African, took the lead on his KTM after leaping from the second row.
Lap two saw the Spaniard Martin, riding a Ducati-Pramac, pass and have a better grip on the frantic battle behind him as riders continued to go down.
On the third lap, Francesco Bagnaia, the two-time defending champion, lost his seat. Inside, Binder forced the Italian into another bike as he squeezed past. The Ducati owned by Bagnaia shot out of the race and the points.
Although Martin had a sizable lead, Marquez, riding the fastest bike on the race, narrowed the gap. On lap seven, under duress, Martin made a mistake, and Marquez took advantage.
Marquez slid off after hitting a wet area with three laps remaining. After remounting, he placed seventh and was elevated to sixth.
“I experienced a
excellent beginning, but even though I was pushing extremely hard, I could see Marquez was approaching,” Martin remarked.
Marc passed me because I made a mistake on the seventh corner. Then he erred when I tried to push him.
Acosta pulled through to take second place on his GasGas, having begun on the fourth row.
Martin entered the race with 92 points, 29 ahead of Acosta, who assumed second place, and 4 ahead of Ducati’s Italian competitor Enea Bastianini, who was unable to finish.
Maverick Vinales, a Spaniard who won twice previously in Austin, is now in fourth place following his own Aprilia incident.
When informed he was ranked second overall, Acosta was taken aback and that it “did not matter.”
