MotoGP World Champion leader Jorge Martin admits it was his idea to pit and swap bikes during the short rain period at the San Marino Grand Prix.
The consequence of Martin’s pit stop was losing 19 points of his championship lead to Francesco Bagnaia as the rain eased off in the laps following his move to Wet tyres.
Martin decided to re-enter the pits and switch back to slick tyres, but by that point, the damage was done, and his big gamble didn’t pay off as he came home in 15th.
“I was thinking more about the race than the championship, so I thought it was better to stop,” Martin explained after the race, having been running second at the time and had already banked 12 points after winning the sprint on Saturday.
“Next time I will wait behind Pecco and do the same.
“For sure it was wet. I think [Franco] Morbidelli crashed. If it kept [raining] the same then I would have won! But from one lap to another it stopped. As soon as I exited from the box I waited but then understood that the best option was to go back.”
Martin revealed that he and Pramac hadn’t formulated a plan pre-race if the rain came down, though every team had a second bike if riders felt it was the right time to swap.
“We didn’t speak about it, and I didn’t know what was coming,” he said. “Maybe that’s why I stopped. Maybe this time we missed a bit of understanding between us.
“I mean, it was 100% my fault. But yeah, it’s always useful to get feedback and have more information before the race.”
“Corner three to 11 was raining a lot, that is why I took my decision. Next time, I will follow my rival.”
Martin now has a seven-point advantage over Bagnaia heading into the second Misano race, with Marc Marquez 53 points behind and Enea Bastianini 62 points adrift.
