Was it a split-second decision that could cost Jorge Martin the World Championship? Probably not, but it took a big chunk out of his Championship lead and planted some doubts when the raindrops started falling. Did that shower on the grid and then in the early laps give Marc Marquez a chance at the Championship? Again, probably not but never say never when the eight-time World Champion is involved. He is going to win more Grands Prix this season and so it is down to Martin and Pecco Bagnaia to make no mistakes at the front.
Since that very first flag-to-flag race at Phillip Island in 2006, good and bad decisions have been made in that split second. It must be a nightmare for riders who are rather busy at the time. Riding a 325 kph motorcycle is tough enough, but in modern times they have so many things to check and change even before checking just how hard the rain is falling on their visor
Sometimes it is a very easy decision. When the heavens open as they did in Motegi last year, your only thought is to get back to pit lane as quickly and as safely as possible to change bikes. When it is iffy it is a very different story. Who will ever forget Brad Binder’s ride of a lifetime at the Red Bull Ring three years ago? As the rain fell on the skating rink surface the KTM rider defied logic by staying out there on slicks as his rivals pulled in. I do not think I was the only person to hold my breath and marvel at his last couple of slipping and sliding laps. It was a gamble that paid off, but it has not always been the case. In 2014 as the rain started to pour down at Aragon, Repsol Honda teammates Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez decided to stay out on slicks while Jorge Lorenzo pitted to change to wets. Both Pedrosa and Marquez crashed in the rain. Lorenzo was a comfortable winner, but Marquez went on to win the title. So, take heart Jorge Martin.
I am not sure if all riders like the flag-to-flag format but for race commentators it was a dream. I was rubbish at working out if the riders had completed the right distance when the rain started, or if we had to take aggregate times from two separate races. The crunch came at Mugello in 2004 when the original race was stopped when the rain arrived. The re-run was classed as a separate race and consisted of just six laps. It was rumoured that a television station announced the first race as the result, and closed their transmission before the shortest race in MotoGP™ history took place. The crowd at Mugello did not worry because Valentino Rossi won the 31.470 kms encounter.
Misano is situated on the coastline of the Adriatic. Perhaps the proximity of the water makes the weather a factor, because it certainly has played a part in my Misano experiences. In 1976, my very first assignment as a Road Racing reporter for Motor Cycle News was curtailed when sleet and rain persuaded Giacomo Agostini not to race and the meeting was called off. In 2007 when Misano returned to the Grand Prix schedule after a 24-year absence, torrential rain wiped out the first day of practice.
You could taste the tension in the air on the Misano grid as those spots of rain arrived from over the Adriatic Ocean. Those old bitter rivals, Valentino Rossi and Max Biaggi offered their advice but only one person could make that decision once the lights changed. Jorge Martin made the wrong one on Sunday, but he will not be the first or the last rider to make the wrong call in the heat of battle.
