Jorge Martin reacts to “roll the dice” gamble which backfired in Misano

Jorge Martin pledged not to repeat Sunday's costly pit-stop gamble, which wiped 19 points from his MotoGP world championship lead at Misano.

The Sprint winner was on the back wheel of race leader and title rival Francesco Bagnaia when raindrops suddenly intensified on lap 7 of 27.

Martin then made a big call by pulling straight into the pits for wet tyres, while Bagnaia and the rest of the frontrunners stayed out.

"I was quite comfortable, but it started raining heavily in sectors one, two, and three. For this reason, I decided to change bikes," Martin said.

The decision quickly backfired.

Third place team-mate Franco Morbidelli crashed due to the rain but the shower soon passed, forcing Martin to pit again for slicks.

The Pramac Ducati rider finished a lap down in 15th, while Marc Marquez capitalised on the conditions to deny Bagnaia of the full 25 points with a surprise win.

Nonetheless, Martin’s title advantage has been slashed from 26 to 7 points.

Just as when Martin lost out due to a tyre gamble on the grid at Phillip Island last year, mimicking Bagnaia would have been the safest title option on Sunday.

“Yeah, for sure, rolling the dice maybe sometimes is not the best choice when you are battling for a championship," Martin said.

"So next time I won't do it. I will stick to Pecco’s decision and do the same!

"I’ve learned my lesson, and now it’s time to look ahead."

Hindering Martin’s comeback was confusion over whether, being a lap down, he could then overtake the riders ahead.

“I didn't know exactly if I could overtake or not. I thought I couldn't, so I was just behind, waiting, waiting, waiting... At least I could get one point," he said.

“I think we could have made a lot more points today, but the important thing is to always try our best.”

Pedro Acosta, who had fallen earlier in the race, the Aprilias of Maverick Vinales, Aleix Espargaro and Raul Fernandez plus Yamaha’s Alex Rins were the only other riders to pit for wets.

Espargaro later retired while the others finished behind Martin, a lap down. at the back of the field.