Marc Marquez created chaos at the Americas Grand Prix, using his deep knowledge of the rule book and rider psychology to gain an advantage without facing penalties. However, a red flag reset everything, meaning no riders were penalized as they normally would be.

Around 30 minutes before the planned start, rain left riders debating their tyre choices. But as the track dried faster than expected, Marquez realized the initial decision was wrong. He made a bold move—rushing from the grid just before the warm-up lap to switch to his dry bike in the Ducati garage. This triggered a chain reaction, with multiple riders following his lead.

Why was this controversial? According to the rules, if more than ten riders leave the grid before the start, the race is restarted, allowing them to regain their original positions. Marquez knew this well and took the gamble, hoping others would follow so that he wouldn’t receive a penalty.

“I really know the rules,” Marquez admitted in an interview with Motorsport.com. “With eight minutes to go, I realized we had made a mistake with the rain setup, but I also knew most riders were still on wet tyres. When I asked my chief mechanic if my second bike was ready, he said yes. That’s when I decided to leave the grid because I knew others would follow, and the race would be stopped.”

Luckily for him, exactly ten riders exited the grid, just one short of the threshold required for an automatic restart. However, race officials intervened, red-flagging the race due to the confusion and safety concerns.

Fabio Di Giannantonio, who started on the front row, summed up the impact of Marquez’s actions.

“I didn’t really have a plan of my own,” said the Italian, who later finished third, as quoted by Crash.net. “I just thought, ‘Let’s do what Marc does.’ He’s always clever in these situations. So when I saw him running, I jumped off my bike. My mechanics tried to stop me, but I told them, ‘No, I have to go!’”

Marquez’s strategy allowed everyone to restart under ideal conditions. However, his race took a disastrous turn on lap nine when he crashed out of the lead. While pushing hard, he clipped the wet kerb at Turn 4, losing control and handing victory to his teammate, Francesco Bagnaia.

“I cut that kerb a bit too much and lost the front,” Marquez admitted in a post-race interview with The Race. “It was completely my mistake. I’m sorry for the team. I had done it a few times before but was too optimistic this time. It wasn’t over-confidence, just a small mistake that cost me 25 points.”

This mistake didn’t just cost him the victory—it also cost him the lead in the championship standings. He now sits in second place, trailing his brother Alex by just one point.