The Pramac Racing rider lost the front end of his bike under braking for Turn 6 causing him to retire from the race lead, handing victory to Francesco Bagnaia.
Martin did win the sprint race though, so he still holds a relatively comfortable points advantage after four rounds of the season.
Who is leading the 2024 MotoGP world riders’ standings?
Martin arrived at the Spanish GP leading the championship by 21 points after a terrific start to the year with victory in the Portuguese GP and Qatar sprint race, as well as three other podiums. That championship advantage was extended to 29 points, as he won the Jerez sprint race after being handed the victory when leader Marc Marquez fell off his bike at Turn 9 on lap nine of 12.
But Martin’s retirement in the grand prix caused his championship lead to reduce significantly, as he left Jerez with a 17-point advantage. Luckily for Martin, many of his front-running rivals also had a disappointing grand prix as rookie Pedro Acosta was second in the championship until he finished 10th at the Spanish GP, after a poor start where he lost eight positions.
Enea Bastianini was second heading into Spain, but the Ducati rider failed to score points in the sprint before finishing fifth in the grand prix. Similar can be said for Maverick Vinales, who started the weekend third in the championship but ended it fifth after zero points in the sprint and ninth in the grand prix.
Those disappointing results meant Bagnaia jumped up to second in the standings as the reigning, double world champion scored his second victory of the season in Spain. His first came in the Qatar season-opener but scoring just 19 points across the Portuguese and Americas GPs meant he dropped down to fifth in the standings before Jerez.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The top five riders are now separated by 29 points with sixth-placed Marquez just three points behind Vinales. The six-time MotoGP champion scored his first grand prix podium of the year with second in Spain causing him to climb two positions in the standings after a mixed start to the season. Marco Bezzecchi was another big gainer from Spain as third in the grand prix saw him jump from 11th to ninth in the standings, while Fabio Quartararo’s difficult start continued.
Quartararo finished fifth in the Spanish sprint race, but 15th in the grand prix means the 2021 world champion remains 12th in the…
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