Jorge Martin leads from start to finish to double up in Misano MotoGP, Marco Bezzecchi takes second

Jorge Martin led from start to finish for an undisputed San Marino Grand Prix victory in Misano.

The Pramac Ducati rider maintained P1 from pole position at lights out and never surrendered the position for his second GP win of the season, doubling up after also having prevailed in Saturday’s Sprint.

“Thanks to all the people who helped me to do this because we’ve worked so hard,” the Spaniard said in parc ferme. “I’ve put in a lot of hours to improve myself, the team also with the bike.

“Today, in front of Pecco [Bagnaia] and Marco [Bezzecchi], it was going to be really tough. I tried to stay in front for all laps, just upping the pace a bit when they were close and as soon as I saw a bit of a gap, I started pushing like hell with all I had.

“At the end, I had a small margin to stay ahead of Marco. Winning here in Italy is a big hit on the table, so I’m happy and focussed on the next one.”

Francesco Bagnaia and Marco Bezzecchi stalked Martin for most of the race but never gained an opportunity to attack. Eventually, the Spaniard made a breakaway just after the halfway point and there was no reeling him in again.

Bezzecchi had briefly taken second off Bagnaia early in the race, but when he ran wide straight after, he opted to sit quietly behind his compatriot for the next couple of laps. Braving a hand injury, Bezzecchi went for the same manoeuvre again on Lap 19, overtaking on the brakes going into Turn 8, and this time made it stick. From there, he pulled away from Bagnaia and was safe in second.

“I’m really really happy,” he said post race. “I gave my all from the beginning to the end. When I passed Pecco, fortunately with some fresh air on my front tyre, I could breathe a little bit and I was able to find a good rhythm, even if the pain was coming on more and more.

“But I really wanted this podium with all my heart for my team and for all the fans here.”

Bagnaia himself was riding battered and bruised after his horror crash a week ago at the Catalan Grand Prix. While he dropped pace in the late stages and had to surrender to Bezzecchi, the championship leader managed to fight off a charging Dani Pedrosa and secure a podium spot at his home race.

“I’m happy I was able to do a good race for the fans and for myself – though I am destroyed after the race,” Bagnaia admitted. “I’m happy with the result; it wasn’t easy considering the situation.”

The KTM duo of Pedrosa and Brad Binder were the only ones able to keep up with the Ducati trio at the front. Binder was chasing them down in the early stages and had almost caught up when his race came to a premature end through a front end wash-out at Turn 14.

Pedrosa, coming in this weekend as a wildcard, inherited the spot as top KTM in fourth. He too started to take chunks out of the Ducatis, but an error on Lap 14 cost him ground and hampered his challenge.

Things got close again towards the end when Bagnaia’s pace dropped while Pedrosa’s upped. However, Bagnaia bravely hung on to the position and denied the veteran a podium position at his return to the Grand Prix circuit.

Maverick Vinales was best of the rest in fifth followed by Miguel Oliveira. Marc Marquez delivered a silver lining for Honda, riding a strong race and fighting off the charging Raul Fernandez and Luca Marini to take the chequered flag in seventh.

With a perfect weekend in the bag, Martin has reduced his championship disadvantage to Bagnaia to 36 points. Bezzecchi sits third a further 29 points behind.

From wildcard to podium contender and top KTM, Pedrosa more than exceeded expectations in Misano.

Besides bagging an incredible fourth place in the Grand Prix race, Pedrosa demonstrated just how good a rider he is – indeed, Binder, who had been stalking Pedrosa for most of Saturday’s Sprint, admitted that it was an honour to just observe the veteran’s skills in action.

As KTM’s leading development rider, Pedrosa’s exceptional performance also promises a lot for the Austrian manufacturer’s 2024 campaign and their future championship ambitions.

1/27: MARTIN MAINTAINS P1 AT LIGHTS OUT, BAGNAIA UP TO SECOND – No problem for Jorge Martin who converts pole position into an immediate race lead at lights out. Bagnaia wins a battle for second against Bezzecchi and Pedrosa.

6/27: BEZZECCHI HITS SECOND, LOSES IT AGAIN – Beautiful move from Bezzecchi who overtakes Bagnaia on the brakes going into T8. However, I runs wide just after and has to surrender the position again.

8/27: BINDER CRASHES OUT – That’s it for Brad Binder who loses the front at T14 and is down and out.

14/27: ERROR FROM PEDROSA – Pedrosa loses good ground to the Ducatis. There must have been an error somewhere in his latest lap there and he has to do all the work again with the gap back up to 1.3 seconds.

19/27: BEZZECCHI UP TO SECOND – The move was coming and there it is. Bezzecchi makes his way past Bagnaia at T8 and immediately starts to pull away. Bagnaia’s pace is going in the wrong direction and the Italian is falling into the clutches of Pedrosa.

25/27: BAGNAIA HOLDS FIRM – Bagnaia bravely holds Pedrosa at bay for now, but the veteran has the superior speed.

27/27: MARTIN AND BEZZECCHI SAFE, P3 UP FOR GRABS – Martin and Bezzecchi are sitting comfortably in first and second respectively going into the final lap. Pedrosa is just about in striking distance of Bagnaia and third, but with Pedrosa unlikely to do anything reckless, Bagnaia looks set to hold on to the position.