Ducati ‘bothered’ Bagnaia is trailing Martin despite having most wins
Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi admits that it “bothers” him that Francesco Bagnaia is only second in the MotoGP standings despite having won half the races so far. Factory rider Bagnaia clinched his ninth grand prix victory from 18 rounds in last weekend’s Thailand GP, having successfully fended off an attack from Gresini rival Marc Marquez […]
Bagnaia admits Thailand GP was a «must-win» as he cuts gap to Martin
Francesco Bagnaia admitted to some relief as he bounced back to secure victory in a “must-win” Thailand Grand Prix after being defeated by Jorge Martin in the sprint encounter. The Italian achieved his first win in wet weather conditions, bringing his 2024 tally up to nine successes over full-length races. Coming after he finished third […]
Wins won’t be enough to defend MotoGP title now against Martin
Francesco Bagnaia aired his frustration at suffering a slight but important loss to MotoGP title rival Jorge Martin with his run to third place in the Thailand Grand Prix sprint race. Though the race itself went the way of Enea Bastianini, Bagnaia’s failure to defend against Martin for second place sees his rival ease his […]
Bagnaia favours Bulega over Iannone for MotoGP debut with VR46
Defending MotoGP World Champion Francesco Bagnaia has thrown his support behind WorldSBK standout Nicolo Bulega as his candidate to replace Fabio di Giannantonio at VR46 Racing for the final two events of the 2024 MotoGP season. The satellite squad is presently mulling options as it prepares to lose di Giannantonio for the concluding Malaysian and […]
How Martin is ‘playing’ Bagnaia in MotoGP championship run-in
Francesco Bagnaia’s face in the post-race press conference at Phillip Island on Sunday, after finishing third in MotoGP’s Australian Grand Prix, was the best imaginable projection of the 10 seconds that separated him from the victorious Marc Marquez and runner-up Jorge Martin. Reigning two-time champion Bagnaia’s gesture was one of concern, a logical reaction considering […]
Ducati halts GP24 bike development amid Martin, Bagnaia MotoGP title fight
Ducati has decided to halt development of its 2024 MotoGP bike as the title battle between Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia enters the final phase. With four events to go in the championship and 10 points separating Martin and Bagnaia in the standings, Ducati has halted the development of the GP24 so that the pair […]
The 2023 “nightmare” Martin is avoiding as MotoGP title pressure cranks up
Jorge Martin says working on his mental strength is aiding his MotoGP world title fight after suffering “a nightmare” during last year’s world championship tussle over the flyaway rounds. The Pramac Ducati rider’s MotoGP standings lead may have been trimmed by three points to 21 points over the Indonesian Grand Prix weekend by Francesco Bagnaia, […]
Bagnaia recovery in Indonesia GP keeps MotoGP title pressure on Martin
Francesco Bagnaia produced a solid recovery in the Indonesian Grand Prix to keep the pressure on MotoGP world title rival Jorge Martin, despite having no answer to the Spaniard’s dominance. The two-time defending champion whittled Martin’s erstwhile 24 point advantage down to 21 points after consolidating his win in Saturday’s sprint race with a run […]
Michelin responds to Bagnaia’s ‘strange’ tyre issue in Misano
Michelin says it couldn’t find any problem with Francesco Bagnaia’s rear tyre in its initial analysis following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Factory Ducati MotoGP rider Bagnaia suffered an inexplicable drop in pace after losing second place to team-mate Enea Bastianini on lap five of 27 at Misano, a problem that also threatened his place […]