In what has been one of the most unpredictable race weekends this year, Marc Marquez claimed his first back-to-back win on Ducati machinery and the factory Ducati duo, Bagnaia and Bastianini finished second and third. Jorge Martin finished 15th after a move to pit and change to his wet setup motorcycle backfired. 

1. Gap between Martin and Bagnaia now down to 7 points
2. First back-to-back wins for Marquez on a Ducati

Martin’s pitstop slashes his championship lead

At the start of the race, there was a prediction for rain so the marshals decreed it a flag-to-flag race, meaning riders can come into the pits and swap bikes set to their wet setup. Unlike the Sprint race, where Jorge Martin had a flawless start and led the race to win it, the main GP was a different story. Sunday man Francesco Bagnaia led the race at the start before Martin’s unfortunate decision to pit and change bikes.

Martin came out on his second bike but soon after, the light drizzle stopped entirely leaving the track dry and rendering his pitstop worthless. This forced his hand to pit once more and swap over to his dry setup bike. By this point, Bagnaia, Marquez and the others who didn’t pit were already well ahead of the riders who went into the pits. 

Marc Marquez takes first back-to-back wins with Ducati

In the tricky mixed conditions is where Marc Marquez came to the fore, as he has done many times before. While Bagnaia was playing it safe and managing his pace, Marquez was confident and fast enough to snatch the lead away from the reigning World Champion. Bagnaia did try to catch Marc over the remainder of the race but the 8-time World Champion showed unmatched pace and consistency to ultimately take the win. This is the first instance (and surely won’t be the last) of Marc Marquez taking back-to-back victories on Ducati machinery. 

2024 MotoGP championship standings

A second place finish for Bagnaia complemented by a distant fifteenth for Martin ensured that Pecco slashed his points deficit to Martin to just 7 points. Entering this weekend, the gap between the two Ducati riders was 27 points 

2024 San Marino MotoGP results