Rookie Martin takes top ten in shambolic rain-hit race

Indianapolis, 9 August 2015: Changing conditions and a series of panicked pit stops made an extraordinary Moto3 afternoon at Indianapolis – with a surprise top-three podium, and a hard-earned best-yet top ten finish for Mapfre Team Mahindra rider Jorge Martin.

Light rain was falling as start time drew near, and a Wet Race was declared, with riders given extra warm-up laps to adjust to the conditions … only for those conditions to change in the final minutes as they waited on the grid.

A handful of riders took the gamble to start on slick tyres, and took the benefit as the track dried rapidly. The top three finishers – first-time podium spots for each – were the most notable, with maiden race winner Livio Loi (Honda) actually changing tyres on the grid, the others starting from pit lane.

Runaway championship leader Danny Kent, like the majority, started on wet tyres, but in spite of an early change he finished only 21st.

The Mapfre Mahindra trio also started on wet tyres, then pitted after the first of the 23 laps to change to slicks. Pit lane was crowded with riders and frantic mechanics. Thanks to slick work by the pit crew, Martin was able to leave the pits in good time, but still finished the third lap in 23rd place.

From there, balancing risk against ambition as rain fell again later in the race, he moved steadily up the order to finish an excellent tenth, matching his qualifying position.

Second Mapfre Mahindra finisher was Juanfran Guevara – three places out of the points in 18th. But a crash out of the race put the cap on a difficult weekend for Pecco Bagnaia. As well as a tyre-change pit stop, he also had to serve a ride-through penalty for a jump start.

This is the second race in succession that grand prix rookie Martin (17, from Madrid) has been the only Mapfre Mahindra rider in the points. Winner of the Red Bull Rookies Cup last year, this was Martin’s first visit to the Indianapolis circuit.

The next round is the Czech Republic GP at Brno, in one week.

JORGE MARTIN – Tenth Place
This was a really good weekend, all weekend we were fast. And then a really strange race. It started raining and then it stopped again, so we had to stop and change tyres. After that I kept my concentration and enjoyed overtaking people. I will try to improve for the next races.


MUFADDAL CHOONIA – CEO, Mahindra Racing
That was probably the most bizarre race Moto3 has ever seen. It was the guys who really gambled on the tyres who won. We are really happy with the progress of Martin, getting stronger all the time. I am sure this race will give him even more confidence, since it was in such difficult conditions. I hope he can continue to improve. It was a forgettable weekend for Pecco. We need to analyse how we can help him to get back to his real position, in the top five.