Prima Pramac Racing rider Jorge Martin relinquished his lead in the championship standings following his crash at the Sachsenring on Sunday.
As a result, Francesco Bagnaia now heads into the summer break as the new leader, boasting 222 World Championship points after nine Grand Prix weekends, surpassing Martin by 10 points, who remained at 212 World Championship points due to his unfortunate crash.
Martin was poised to secure his third win of the year at the Sachsenring but unfortunately, he tumbled the front-end of his Ducati at Turn 1 at the start of the penultimate lap, ultimately landing in the gravel.
“I think I rode perfectly! I felt fantastic. Considerably better than in free practice or qualifying. As for the crash, at the moment I don’t want to look at it because it doesn’t help.” Martin said.
Martin expressed uncertainty about the cause of his crash, questioning whether it was due to pressure from his pursuers, a technical issue, or an entirely different cause.
Notably, this marks the third time this season that Martin has experienced a similar setback, having also crashed while leading in Jerez and Mugello.
“A crash in Jerez, a crash in Mugello, and now another crash here, these crashes are very similar.” Martin said.
“Is it something to do with my riding, is it in my head? I simply don’t know, but there is something that makes me crash. But either way, there is no excuse.
“I was not the king of the paddock before, just as I am not the slamiel now. What makes champions is the ability to learn from your own mistakes. This is a very important day in my career.” he added.
During last year’s Indonesian Grand Prix, a crash occurred at a crucial juncture of the title run-in, ultimately playing a role in Martin’s loss of the championship to Bagnaia.
