Martin triggered a pile-up into Turn 1 on the opening lap when he made contact with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo trying to overtake him on the inside.
Quartararo was forced into a collision with Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales, who dropped from second after a bad start, which then led to himself, the Yamaha rider and Ducati’s Enea Bastianini running off track while Miguel Oliveira, Marco Bezzecchi and Johann Zarco were all taken down.
The incident is currently under investigation and no decision has been reached by the stewards, with Martin finishing the sprint in third.
Explaining what happened at Turn 1, Martin – who was late to the post-race press conference due to his stewards meeting – said: “I watched it like 50 times and for sure it’s complicated for their side, but also for my side.
“I was keeping a straight line, I didn’t do any esses. I felt I was going to do the corner on the inside quite comfortably, but then some other riders on the outside closed their lines a bit.
“Then Fabio closed on me and he lost control a bit. I think it was a combination of things, but I think it’s not my fault still.
“I was doing a good line on the inside, for sure it was bad luck. I hope the riders are ok but I guess it’s not my fault.
“They [the stewards] don’t know still [what their decision will be]. I guess a lot of teams were complaining a lot about the start.
Source: Autosport