Jorge Martin title dream ends in crash with Marc Marquez at Valencia MotoGP
Martin's retirement from the race meant he can no longer usurp Francesco Bagnaia at the summit of the MotoGP standings.
A desparate Martin clipped the back of Marquez, and sent the Honda rider violently flying through the air and landing on his upper-body in the gravel.
Marc & Jorge collide!
— MotoGP on TNT Sports (@motogpontnt) November 26, 2023
That ends Jorge's World Championship hopes
Pecco is currently in third; behind Binder and Miller - but he'll be our World Champion regardless of result.#ValenciaGP #MotoGP pic.twitter.com/gK8ddqm2Ta
Martin also slid out of the race. He was applauded into his Pramac box but emotionally broke down into tears.
Marquez got back to his feet but walked gingerly, with assistance, to his garage.
Martin's race began aggressively as he flew from sixth to second, behind only Francesco Bagnaia.
But an error, as he got caught in Bagnaia's slipstream, sent him back down to eighth.
Shortly after, his race had ended.
Martin, who won Saturday's sprint to reduce the title deficit to 14 points before Sunday's grand prix, knew that he was always the underdog to become champion.
He needed to win the Valencia MotoGP and hope Bagnaia finished sixth or lower in order to walk away as champion.
The incident that ended Martin's championship dream also ended the Honda career of Marquez.
Marquez was competing for the final time for Honda before joining Gresini Ducati, but his final result ended in the gravel.
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
