Factory Ducati MotoGP duo Francesco Bagnaia and Enea Bastianini say they were able 🍨to smel🗹l that the Misano track was not ready for wet tyres in the San Marino Grand Prix.

Spots of rain fell on and off on the build-up to Sunday’s grand prix at Misano, as forecasts predicted the possibility of a heavy♏ cell of poor weather hitting the circuit during the race.

• 2024 San Marino MotoGP, Misano - Race Results

The race was ꦬdeclared dry to begin with, but on lap seven of 27 rain fell hard enough to trigger a flag-to-flag scenario.

Six riders, including championship leader Jorge M𝔉artin while he was running second, elected to pit for their weღt bikes. But the rain was only brief and that proved to be the wrong strategy.

Marc Marqu🍰ez went on to win the grand prix, wh⛎ile Bagnaia and Bastianini completed the podium.

After the race, both Bagnaia and Bastianini - who are 🦹local to t𒊎he circuit and use it frequently for training - revealed that their sense of smell correctly dictated their strategies.

“The one that we had on Thursday,” Bagnaia said of🧜 the smell the Misano circuit gives off when ✃it is wet.

“On Thursday it was raining in the paddock and the smell wa🀅s heavy.

“So, it’s a thing that I know well and it was not smelling like ꦗthis.

“I was quite scared because I saw Morbidelli cཧrash, and when he crashed I slowed down morꦏe and I saw the guys behind arriving.

“But I didn’t want to take any risk and even more when Jorge en🌺tered the pits.”

Bastianini added: “I thought to remain on track ಞbecause here when it starts to rain and it rains a lot, the track smells a bit of water.

“And 🌄today [it didn’t]. Also, todꦆay it was cloudy but not too much. I thought ‘Ok, it will be light rain’ and I decided to continue and it was the right choice.”

Marqu🍬ez was running in the lead group when Ma🧜rtin boxed and said he had no thoughts to do so at that time.

But he adm🎶its that he was able to correctly call his strategy because he “followed the local guys” an🌃d that Martin's call wasn't "very crazy".

“I mean, of course the strategy of Martin was not very crazy because if in that lap it continued the same amount of water, he wo🦩꧟uld have the best strategy," the race winner said. 

"But it’s t🌠rue that I said I will follow the local guy and the local guy stayed out. They kn🔴ow better than me. And then I said ‘if they stay out, I’ll stay out’. And all the Italians stayed out.

“I asked my team, to Frankie [Carchedi, crew chief]𝓀, before the starꦯt of the race and he said the forecast says no but maybe something can arrive.

♛“𓄧But when they say maybe something can arrive, they mean light rain.

“But you never k🌠now. In those conditions, it’s only a bit more or a bit less.

“You see Franco Morbidelli in that Turn 1, he lost the ♓front and was quite wet. But as I say, and it’s not a joke, I followed the local guys as they know better than me.”&nꦬbsp;