MARTIN LETS MARQUEZ THROUGH OVER TYRE PRESSURE AND FINISHES FOURTH

Marc Marquez took the Mandalika Sprint victory and moved four points clear of Jorge Martin in the 2026 MotoGP standings, after the Aprilia rider’s promising race unravelled in its closing laps.

Martin, who started fifth, avoided the first-corner chaos and took the lead. Marquez’s move between Fabio Di Giannantonio and Marco Bezzecchi forced Bezzecchi to back off, while polesitter Raul Fernandez had little room on the outside and collided with Bezzecchi. Martin said he saw four riders entering the corner together and “knew they weren't going to make it”, so he waited for a clear line and went through. The pair of Bezzecchi and Fernandez were out before completing the first turn.

Martin built a lead of more than 1.5 seconds over Marquez and tried to manage it. Marquez said he pushed when he saw Martin leading, despite making a mistake on lap three or four that allowed the Aprilia rider to pull away. He began closing in during the final stages.

With five laps remaining, Martin sat up and let Marquez through. He later confirmed the reason: he was concerned his front tyre pressure was below the required level and tried to raise the tyre temperature by pushing. “I just tried to push more, trying to warm up the front tyre a bit more, but I wasn't into the zone,” he said. “So I had to let Marc pass.”

Martin said the victory had seemed secure before the pressure issue intervened. “Today the win was already done, let's say,” he said. “The difficult part was done, it was just to manage.” MotoGP rules require riders to stay above the minimum pressure for at least 30% of Sprint laps; an infringement brings an eight-second penalty. Martin said Aprilia had not deliberately taken a risk and that the team would need to investigate why the pressure fell short. He suggested humidity or a change in conditions from the previous day might have played a part, adding that even “0.1 [bar more]” could have made the difference.

Former MotoGP rider Michael Laverty had initially suspected a tyre-pressure problem, and said Martin gave up too much time when he yielded. Martin then set a very fast lap to catch Marquez, but needed to stay close to benefit from the front tyre pressure effect of following another bike. “He needed to be right on his rear wheel to get his front tyre pressure up,” Laverty said, noting that Marquez handles that situation particularly well. Martin, he added, “penalised himself too much” before making another mistake.

That error came on the penultimate lap at Turn 16. Martin lost the rear of his RS-GP and ran wide, allowing Trackhouse’s Ai Ogura and Di Giannantonio to pass. He finished fourth. Laverty later spotted what appeared to be a rear-wheel lock as Martin approached the corner, following a moment through the Turn 15 kink. He said the pressure concern may have distracted Martin, who could also have been trying to recover time after Marquez took control. Laverty raised the possibility of an electronics issue, but Martin’s pace—he had returned to the 1:29s—did not suggest widespread trouble.

The result turned Martin’s two-point championship advantage into a four-point deficit, giving Marquez the lead for the first time this season. Martin remained upbeat about Sunday, saying he was fast and had led with confidence, while expecting Bezzecchi and Fernandez to be strong. “I feel we can be in the fight for a podium,” he said. Laverty summed up the Sprint’s lost opportunity: “He should have had first, then he should have had second, and in the end it was fourth. So, bit of a tough day at the office for Aprilia.”