Current MotoGP championship leader Jorge Martin has acknowledged that his accident during the Spanish Grand Prix while in the lead was peculiar. The Pramac Ducati rider started in third position and quickly overtook pole sitter Marc Marquez and defended his position against 2023 champion Francesco Bagnaia in the first two laps of the race. Martin managed to establish a comfortable lead over Bagnaia, but on lap 11, he lost control of his Ducati as he approached Turn 6, resulting in his first retirement of the 2024 season. Bagnaia went on to win the race, marking his third victory back-to-back in Jerez. As a result, Martin’s championship lead was reduced to 17 points. When speaking to the press after the race, Martin expressed his inability to identify a specific cause for the accident. He described it as a strange incident and mentioned that he will look into the details to gain a better understanding. Martin had been maintaining a consistent pace of 1:37.9 to 38.0, which he believed was enough to maintain his lead and preserve his rear tire. He was focused and confident, and the accident took him by surprise as he had entered the corner early and in a straight line. Martin emphasized the importance of learning from the incident and improving for future races. Bagnaia, who eventually emerged as the winner, achieved a best lap time of 1m37.449s during the race. Martin admitted he would have struggled to keep up with the Italian if he hadn’t crashed. He noted that Bagnaia was exceptional and had impressive pace throughout the race, surpassing Martin’s lap times.
