Рубрика: Motosport News

Bagnaia knew his title chances were slim after Malaysia blunder

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Francesco Bagnaia says he was aware it was going to be a tough task to win the 2024 MotoGP title after he crashed out of the sprint race for the Malaysian Grand Prix.

Factory Ducati rider Bagnaia was running second behind Pramac rival Jorge Martin in the short-distance race at Sepang when he dumped his GP24 at the tricky uphill Turn 9, giving away important points during a crucial stage of the championship.

Bagnaia bounced back from that error to win the main race in Malaysia and complete a double win in the Barcelona finale, but it wasn’t enough to overturn a 29-point deficit to eventual champion Martin.

Although Bagnaia has publicly maintained that he still had a real shot at winning this year’s title, he admitted after his eventual defeat in Barcelona that he knew that his hopes of defending his crown were in fact very slim.

“I already accepted that after my sprint race in Malaysia, I understood that it was tough and difficult to win the championship,” he said.

“[Overcoming] 29 points was [going to be] quite tough but I just tried to do the maximum, winning all the races remaining. It was the maximum I could do but Jorge did a better job.

“In terms of consistency, he was better. I think he finished like 17 or 18 times second during the season so it is something unbelievable and from our side, we just had a bit of bad luck.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I also made some mistakes, so it’s difficult to imagine winning a title with eight zeros.

“We also beat the number of points compared to last season with eight zeros [498 vs 467]. 

“So I think we did a very good job and we almost dominated the races in terms of victories but this wasn’t enough and for next year I will have to learn from my season, learn from some situation that happened this season.”

Although Bagnaia won 11 grands prix over the season, putting him among some of the all-time greats in motorcycle racing, his campaign was also marred by misfortune and unforced errors.

Among other mistakes, Bagnaia crashed out of the lead of the sprint race in the Catalan Grand Prix in May and also gave away a likely podium finish in the Emilia Grand Prix.

But the error in the penultimate round Sepang stings the most for him, given the circumstances of the crash and the impact it had on his title hopes.

“In terms of mistakes I think the one in Misano was one of the worst because I was easily finishing third,” he said.

“The most difficult to accept is the one in Malaysia honestly because I wasn’t doing anything wrong. 

“I entered the corner slower and maybe that was the reason for the crash. This one is the most difficult to accept.”

Photos from Barcelona GP Race



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Martin «couldn’t ride» through «crying» in last laps of Barcelona finale

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Newly-crowned MotoGP champion Jorge Martin says he “couldn’t ride” and was crying under his helmet during the final laps of the Barcelona Grand Prix.

Pramac rider Martin claimed his first MotoGP title with a safe third-place finish in the final round of the season, beating race winner and factory Ducati rival Francesco Bagnaia to the crown by 10 points.

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Although Martin won only three out of the 20 grands prix all year, compared to a whopping 11 for Bagnaia, it was his consistency and a lack of mistakes in the second half of the campaign that won him the title.

Martin previously admitted to feeling anxious on the final weekend of the year, with even Bagnaia admitting that he had sensed some nerves as they battled for glory over the Barcelona weekend.

And the Spaniard now says he struggled to control his emotions in the final moments of the race, as the dream of winning the world championship grew closer.

“It sounds amazing, I don’t know what to say — I’m completely shocked,” Martin said after returning to parc ferme following his championship celebrations.

“This is for my people, for my family, for the people that are supporting me, this is for them. 

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“[In] the last laps I couldn’t even ride, I started crying a bit. It was a really emotional race. And yes thanks to my people, it’s for them, completely for them. 

“It’s been a long journey, a lot of crashes, big injuries and finally we are back here. So thanks to all the people, thanks to the fans, it is also for Valencia — a Spanish rider. 

“I hope we can keep improving and enjoy the moment. This is the most important thing. Leave the pressure and enjoy the moment.”

Bagnaia was in unbeatable form over the weekend in Spain, setting the pace in Friday practice before converting pole position on Saturday and converting that into a sprint win.

Although he did come under pressure from 2025 team-mate Marc Marquez on the Gresini GP23, he hung on to take another grand prix victory on Sunday.

However, it wasn’t enough to defeat Martin, who only needed to finish inside the top nine to be crowned champion.

Bagnaia congratulated his former Moto3 team-mate Martin after his championship triumph, saying “I think he is deserving of what he achieved. This day is for him. 

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I just want to say thanks to my team, they did an incredible job, all the rest is another story but congratulations to Jorge,” said the 2022 and ‘23 champion.

While Bagnaia will remain within the Ducati fold to have another crack at the title in 2025, Martin will leave the Borgo Panigale marque to join Aprilia on a two-year factory deal.

Photos from Barcelona GP Race



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Martin crowned champion as Bagnaia wins finale

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Pramac rider Jorge Martin clinched his maiden MotoGP title with a safe third-place finish in the Barcelona Grand Prix, while Francesco Bagnaia had to concede defeat despite scoring an 11th win of 2024.

Martin arrived at Sunday’s finale in Spain with a 19-point lead in the championship over factory Ducati rival Bagnaia and only needed to finish inside the top nine to lift the trophy.

Although Bagnaia led away from pole position and controlled the race at the front, Martin was able to settle back in third position and still take the title by 10 points.

He became the first rider to be crowned champion on a satellite bike in the MotoGP era, with Bagnaia’s mentor Valentino Rossi being the last rider to achieve that feat during the final 500cc season in 2001.

When the 24-lap got underway at Barcelona, Bagnaia made the perfect start to lead into Turn 1, with Martin jumping from fourth to grab second position behind his title rival.

Gresini’s Marquez slotted into third position and immediately started piling pressure on Martin, who began to fall behind leader Bagnaia.

At the start of lap 2, Marquez pulled off a clean move on Martin into Turn 1, with the latter appearing content to drop to third position — knowing it would be more than enough to seal the title.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Marquez, involved in his own scrap with Enea Bastianini for third place in the standings, then set about chasing Bagnaia, who had pulled out a small lead by then.

But the Spaniard didn’t attempt a move for the lead in the first half of the race, even when the factory Ducati rider made a small error at Turn 5 on lap 10.

Bagnaia continued to control the pace until lap 15 of 24, when he posted a stunning lap to pull half a second clear of Marquez.

The six-time champion managed to close the gap again as the race drew to a close, but Bagnaia did enough to hang on to the win.

Martin didn’t bother chasing the leading duo for victory, cruising more than two seconds behind them to take third and claim his world championship in any class since 2018 with a podium.

Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro acted as the perfect rear-gunner for his ally Martin and looked set to take fourth place until Alex Marquez on the other Gresini bike snatched fourth position away from him on the penultimate lap.

That meant Espargaro capped off an incredible career in which he turned Aprilia into a race-winning force with a fifth-place finish on his home turf.

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia Racing Team, Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Factory Ducati rider Bastianini was also battling with Espargaro and the younger Marquez, but a mistake at Turn 2 on lap 8 forced him to take the escape road, leaving him seventh at the finish.

It meant that Marc Marquez won his duel with Bastianini for third place in the championship, as he prepares to take the latter’s place at the factory Ducati team in 2025.

KTM’s charge in Barcelona was led by factory rider Brad Binder, who completed another impressive from 18th on the grid to claim sixth, overtaking Bastianini on the final lap.

Binder also benefited from stablemate Pedro Acosta having a tough day in Barcelona, the 20-year-old rookie suffering a late drop in grip on his GasGas-branded RC16.

Acosta eventually finished 10th, behind Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli and VR46 rider Marco Bezzecchi.

Fabio Quartararo finished a solid 11th for Yamaha, leading future team-mates Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Aprilia) and Jack Miller (KTM).

Although Honda had shown strong pace in practice in the run-up to the weekend, only one of its riders finished inside the points, as Johann Zarco took 14th on the LCR bike ahead of Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales.

Factory HRC rider Joan Mir was the only retiree from the race, as 22 of the 23 riders took the chequered flag.

Photos from Barcelona GP Race

Solidarity GP result



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MotoGP Barcelona GP: Moto2 and Moto3 results

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Alonso continued his winning run in Moto3, while the Moto2 season ended with Canet taking victory in a tense finale

The day’s action kicked off with an 18-lap Moto3 race, where David Alonso capped off his title-winning campaign with a record-extending 14th victory.

The CFMoto Aspar rider made a brilliant start from pole position to lead into Turn 1, but struggled to pull out a gap in the opening stages of the race.

With the slipstream effect so strong on Barcelona’s main straight, that meant that Alonso was swallowed up by the likes of Daniel Holgado, Ivan Ortola and Adrian Fernandez on lap 3, dropping to fourth.

This was followed by a period in which Tech3’s Holgado and Leopard Racing’s Fernandez traded the lead on virtually every lap, with Holgado overtaking Fernandez a number of times into Turn 1, only for the latter to strike back in the tighter sections of the track.

Alonso dropped as low as eighth by lap six but started gradually coming back at the frontrunners, passing Holgado for second on lap 11.

It was on lap 14 that he finally hit the front, as he moved past Fernandez around the outside of Turn 1.

However, his job wasn’t over, with Fernandez, Boe Motorsport’s David Munoz and MT Helmets — MSi rider Ortola using the slipstream to demote him back to fourth with three laps to run. To make matters worse, he was forced wide by Ortola at Turn 4 on the same tour, losing further ground.

But the 18-year-old quickly fought back to third at the start of the penultimate tour and then dove up the inside of Holgado into Turn 10 to snatch second position. When Fernandez ran wide at the exit of the same corner, Alonso needed no second invitation to retake the lead.

Holding his line on the final lap, Alonso scored an incredible victory to become the first rider to win 14 races in a single season in any class of the world championship.

Holgado took the chequered flag 0.147s behind in second to secure the runner-up spot in the championship, while a three-second penalty for taking a shortcut at Turn 1 on the final lap dropped Fernandez from third to 11th in the final reckoning.

The biggest beneficiary of Fernandez’s sanction was his team-mate and Moto3 rookie Angel Piqueras, who claimed the final podium position ahead of Ajo’s Jose Antonio Rueda and MT Helmets — MSi rider Ryusei Yamanaka.

Munoz and Ortola slumped to sixth and ninth respectively.

Moto3 Solidarity Grand Prix result
1


D. Alonso

CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team

80 CF MOTO 18
154.9 25
2

Spain

D. Holgado


Red Bull GASGAS Tech3

 96 GASGAS 18
0.147 		154.9 20
3


Á. Piqueras

Leopard Racing

36 Honda 18
1.063 		154.8 16
4


J. Antonio

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

99 KTM 18
0.142 		154.8 13
5

Japan

R. Yamanaka


MT Helmets — MSI

 6 KTM 18
0.333 		154.8 11
6

Spain

D. Munoz


BOE Motorsports

 64 KTM 18
154.8 10
7

Japan

T. Furusato


Honda Team Asia

 72 Honda 18
0.195 		154.7 9
8


J. Roulstone

Red Bull GASGAS Tech3

12 GASGAS 18
0.272 		154.7 8
9


I. Ortola

MT Helmets — MSI

48 KTM 18
0.068 		154.7 7
10


C. Veijer

Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP

95 Husqvarna 18
0.620 		154.7 6
11

Mexico

A. Fernandez


Leopard Racing

 31 Honda 18
0.705 		154.9 5
12

Australia

J. Kelso


BOE Motorsports

 66 KTM 18
1.280 		154.5 4
13

Japan

T. Suzuki


Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP

 24 Husqvarna 18
6.125 		154.0 3
14


D. Almansa

Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team

22 Honda 18
0.116 		154.0 2
15

Italy

M. Bertelle


Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team

 18 Honda 18
0.018 		154.0 1
16


N. Fabio

LEVELUP — MTA

10 KTM 18
0.013 		154.0
17

United Kingdom

S. Ogden


FleetSafe Honda — MLav Racing

 19 Honda 18
0.087 		154.0
18


L. Lunetta

SIC58 Squadra Corse

58 Honda 18
1.905 		153.9
19


Á. Carpe

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

83 KTM 18
0.475 		153.8
20


F. Farioli

SIC58 Squadra Corse

7 Honda 18
0.122 		153.8
21


E. O’Shea

FleetSafe Honda — MLav Racing

8 Honda 18
0.660 		153.8
22


X. Zurutuza

Red Bull KTM Factory Racing

85 KTM 18
2.426 		153.8
23


N. Dettwiler

CIP

55 KTM 18
19.892 		152.0
24


T. Buasri

Honda Team Asia

5 Honda 18
0.530 		152.0
25


M. Uriarte

CFMOTO Valresa Aspar Team

89 CF MOTO 18
1.120 		151.9
dnf

Italy

R. Rossi


CIP

 54 KTM 6
12 Laps 		145.3 Retirement
dnf

Italy

S. Nepa


LEVELUP — MTA

 82 KTM 1
5 Laps 		87.5 Retirement

Canet holds off Gonzalez to win in Moto2

Aron Canet, Fantic Racing

Aron Canet, Fantic Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

In Moto2, Aron Canet fended off a late challenge from Manuel Gonzalez to claim his fourth victory of the season —  and third from the last six races.

At the start of the race, Canet made a terrible launch from pole position and slumped to 10th place, allowing Gonzalez to grab the holeshot into Turn 1.

But Canet was quickly able to recover to fifth place, aided by two incidents in front of him. First, it was CFMoto Aspar rider Jake Dixon who made contact with Alonso Lopez into Turn 5, having run wide at the first corner and dropped down the order. It sent him in the path of Jorge Navarro, taking both of them down.

Then, Zonta van den Goorbergh and Celestino Vietti had a high-speed crash under braking for Turn 1, with Deniz Oncu lucky to remain upright after also being hit by the RW Racing rider.

This meant that Canet was back up to third place by the end of lap 3, behind champion Ai Ogura and race leader Gonzalez.

The Fantic Racing rider made light work of Ogura on the following tour and then pulled off a brilliant overtake on Gonzalez at the final corner to retake the lead of the race.

By the midpoint of the race, Canet’s lead had grown to over a second, with Gonzalez likewise putting daylight between himself and MT Helmets — MSi rider Ogura.

However, Canet’s pace began to drop in the closing stages, bringing Gonzales back into play. 

The two riders started the final lap with a quarter of a second separating them, but Canet defended well from his countryman to take the chequered flag with a winning margin of just 0.091s.

Finishing just over a second behind was Diogo Moreira, who replicated Canet’s Turn 14-move on champion Ogura on the final lap to snatch the final spot on the podium.

The two riders had spent the majority of the race battling for third position, with Ogura doing enough for the longest time to hold station.

The Italtrans rider got the move down on him at Turn 1, only for Ogura to strike back with a divebomb on Turn 10. However, it was Moreira who had the last laugh as he secured third place by 0.043s with a last-corner move.

Marc VDS rider Filip Salac crossed the line in fifth ahead of Ogura’s team-mate Sergio Garcia, who secured his best result since a fourth-place finish at Silverstone back in August.

Fermin Aldeguer, who will move up to MotoGP with Gresini next year, finished 10th for SpeedUp Racing after serving a long-lap penalty he picked up in Thailand.

Moto2 Solidarity GP result



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How Bagnaia’s task in Barcelona compares to Lorenzo, Hayden turnarounds

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Francesco Bagnaia needs more than a victory to come away from the Barcelona Grand Prix as a three-time MotoGP champion. Only some misfortune on Jorge Martin’s part could swing the title battle in his favour in the final round of the season.

The factory Ducati rider rode admirably on Saturday to clinch victory in the sprint and slash Martin’s advantage from 24 points to 19, while establishing himself as the rider to beat at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya.

Although Bagnaia still has a mountain to climb on Sunday, there have been similar cases where the second-placed rider has pulled off a major upset in the championship showdown.

Perhaps one season the factory Ducati rider could relate to is 2006, when Honda’s young gun Nicky Hayden was battling with Yamaha star Valentino Rossi for the title.

Incidentally, Rossi’s campaign that year was very similar to that of his protege Bagnaia, with the latter winning more races than anyone but also crashing often. Hayden, much like current Pramac rider Martin, was the more consistent of the two title runners despite scoring fewer wins.

A major twist in the championship came when Dani Pedrosa crashed unaided at the penultimate round of the season in Estoril, taking his team-mate Hayden with him.

That left Hayden with a 12-point gap deficit to Rossi going into the season finale, which took place in Valencia the following week.

Nicky Hayden

Nicky Hayden

Photo by: Repsol Media

Rossi qualified on pole for the race while Hayden could only manage fifth on the grid, further boosting the former’s chances of adding another premier class to his tally.

But the pendulum began to swing again at the start of the race, when Rossi dropped to sixth place, directly behind his chief title rival Hayden. Over the next few laps, Hayden continued to inch closer to the front, while Rossi found himself down in seventh.

Then disaster struck on lap 7 when Rossi lost control of his Yamaha at Turn 2, suffering a low-speed crash into the gravel. The Yamaha rider was able to remount on his M1 but valiantly fought back to 13th place, scoring just three championship points in the process.

Up ahead, Hayden held his nerves and crossed the line in third place, overturning a 12-point deficit into a five-point championship triumph. The pictures of a weeping Hayden completing the cooldown lap while holding the American flag have since been etched into motorcycle racing folklore.

His championship triumph was even more impressive considering he had never led the standings until that point of the season, and had scored just two wins over 17 rounds compared to five for Rossi.

After Hayden’s epic turnaround in 2006, it wasn’t until a decade later that MotoGP featured another topsy-turvy title decider. It was again Rossi who lost the championship at the last possible moment, and the penultimate round again played a major role in setting up the stage for the finale.

Start: Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing leads

Start: Jorge Lorenzo, Yamaha Factory Racing leads

Photo by: Yamaha MotoGP

In one of the most controversial seasons in MotoGP history, Rossi and his Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo were left to squabble for the title after Honda man Marc Marquez had dropped out of the fight.

Rossi and Marquez had clashed a number of times during that campaign, both on and off the track, but their battle came to its head in Malaysia when the Yamaha rider made contact with his arch-rival while passing him for third, leaving the latter on the ground.

Rossi was handed three penalty points on his license after being deemed guilty of causing the crash, triggering a back-of-the-grid penalty for the final showdown in Valencia.

That meant that team-mate Lorenzo, who was trailing Rossi by seven points in the championship, now had a real chance of winning the title.

Claiming pole position for the finale, Lorenzo put in a faultless performance to win his third premier class title by five points — marking a 12-point swing in the championship.

Rossi rose heroically from 25th to fourth place, but it wasn’t enough to prevent Lorenzo from overturning his advantage in the standings. Rossi continues to blame Marquez for costing him an eighth world title to this date.

The cases of Hayden and Lorenzo would certainly give some encouragement to Bagnaia, although with a 19-point deficit to Martin, he isn’t exactly in the same boat as those two.

For starters, the factory Ducati rider has to finish inside the top two in the race to have any chance of winning his third title this year. Even if he wins the race, Martin could finish as low as ninth and still join Aprilia next year as the reigning champion.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Bagnaia had made it clear that he wouldn’t be resorting to any mind games in order to get the upper hand over Martin. These, he believes, don’t exactly work in MotoGP and will only serve as a distraction.

However, that doesn’t mean he won’t have a gameplan for the race, as he did for qualifying on Saturday. 

Bagnia purposefully gave Gresini’s Marc Marquez — and Martin’s team-mate Franco Morbidelli — a slipstream in Q2, knowing that the Spaniard was struggling more than usual around Barcelona. 

His plan worked, with Marquez qualifying third and leaving Martin outside of the front row in fourth. However, in his own words, Bagnaia would like to have more bikes between him and Martin — and this is where lies the real problem.

Ducati has been so dominant this year, particularly with the new-for-2024 GP24, that it is so hard for other manufacturers to mix up with it. It’s why smaller errors aren’t penalised as much as they would in another season and even a relatively off weekend for Martin (or Bagnaia) would mean they can still finish third or fourth.

While in 2006 Rossi was engulfed by a number of riders after a slow start and was being hunted down by Suzuki’s Chris Vermeulen when he fell from his Yamaha at Turn 5, Martin is unlikely to feature such a strong challenge from non-Ducati riders in Barcelona, especially with the factory KTM duo qualifying near the back of the grid.

The highest non-placed Ducati rider on the grid is Aleix Espargaro in second, with the Aprilia rider having openly admitted that he would be willing to support Martin in his championship challenge.

In a way, Ducati is a victim of its own success in MotoGP. There is no denying that the Borgo Panigale marque wants a rider on the factory team to win the championship. But its bike is so ahead of the competition that Martin is unlikely to finish 10th or lower even if he has a woeful outing in Barcelona on Sunday.



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You will have to shoot Martin for him to finish worse than fourth

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Ducati team boss Davide Tardozzi joked that someone would have to shoot Pramac rider Jorge Martin for him to finish lower than fourth in Sunday’s MotoGP finale in Barcelona.

Martin is on the verge of winning the 2024 MotoGP title in his final race appearance on a Ducati, despite factory rider Francesco Bagnaia comprehensively outperforming him in Saturday’s sprint to take a dominant victory.

With a 19-point advantage in the standings, the Spaniard just needs to finish inside the top nine in order to clinch the world championship and add to his Moto3 title success from 2018.

While Tardozzi has reason to support the title bid of Bagnaia, he admitted that Martin has the upper hand going into the final race of the year in Spain.

“Jorge is deservedly leading the championship and right now he has a way to manage the situation,” he told GPOne.

“He showed his attitude in Sepang: he could have managed the race, instead he made an extraordinary start. 

“[For] Martin to finish any worse than fourth place [in Barcelona], you’ll have to shoot him. Anything can happen in racing, but Jorge is fast. I think it will not be difficult for him to finish in the top 5 on Sunday.”

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Bagnaia did the best he could on Saturday by claiming pole position and scoring the maximum points in the sprint, while Martin finished in third on the Pramac-entered GP24.

Bagnaia’s team-mate Enea Bastianini also earned applause from Ducati after he stole second place away from Martin on the final lap with a bold but clean pass into Turn 5.

The result was important for Bastianini in his fight with Gresini’s Marc Marquez for third place in the championship, especially with Marquez struggling to seventh in the half-distance race.

Tardozzi, who was seen congratulating Bastianini after the sprint, praised the Italian for how he rode like a champion in his final weekend with the team ahead of his move to Tech3 KTM in 2025.

“Enea did his part, he wants third place in the world championship and he was extraordinary both at the start and in the finish,” said Tardozzi.

“Both riders [Bagnaia and Bastianini] were free to do their race and knew their potential well, especially Pecco. 

“Enea pulled something out of his hat, because he had struggled in the set-up, but then he brought out the badassness of a champion.”

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How Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia can win the 2024 MotoGP title in Barcelona GP

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Pramac rider Jorge Martin goes into the Barcelona Grand Prix with a reduced — but still substantial — 19-point lead over factory Ducati rival Francesco Bagnaia.

What was a 24-point lead was trimmed down to just 19 by Bagnaia following his impressive performance in the sprint race on Saturday, in which he converted pole position into a seventh half-distance race victory of 2024.

The Italian was aided by his team-mate Enea Bastianini, who snatched second place from Martin with a brilliant move at Turn 5 on the final lap. It made a difference of two points to Martin’s tally, which could play a big role in Sunday’s finale.

As with every grand prix, 25 points are on offer in the Barcelona GP, meaning Martin is still the favourite to lift the championship trophy in his last race with Pramac and Ducati.

The Spaniard only needs to finish inside the top nine on Sunday to be crowned champion, irrespective of how Bagnaia fares in the race.

If Bagnaia fails to score an 11th win of 2024 in Barcelona, Martin can clinch the title by finishing as low as 14th place.

If both Martin and Bagnaia end up level on points on Sunday, which is possible if Bagnaia wins and Martin finishes 10th, then the title will go to the factory Ducati rider on countback (he would have 11 wins to Martin’s three). 

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

How Jorge Martin can win the 2024 MotoGP title in Barcelona GP

Martin

Bagnaia

If Martin wins

Bagnaia’s finishing position will not matter

If Martin finishes second

Bagnaia’s finishing position will not matter

If Martin finishes third

Bagnaia’s finishing position will not matter

If Martin finishes fourth

Bagnaia’s finishing position will not matter

If Martin finishes fifth

Bagnaia’s finishing position will not matter

If Martin finishes sixth

Bagnaia’s finishing position will not matter

If Martin finishes seventh

Bagnaia’s finishing position will not matter

If Martin finishes eighth

Bagnaia’s finishing position will not matter

If Martin finishes ninth

Bagnaia’s finishing position will not matter

If Martin finishes 10th

Bagnaia must finish second or lower

If Martin finishes 11th

Bagnaia must finish second or lower

If Martin finishes 12th

Bagnaia must finish second or lower

If Martin finishes 13th

Bagnaia must finish second or lower

If Martin finishes 14th

Bagnaia must finish second or lower

If Martin finishes 15th

Bagnaia must finish third or lower

If Martin finishes outside of the points

Bagnaia must finish third or lower

How Francesco Bagnaia can win the 2024 MotoGP title in Barcelona GP

The odds are against Bagnaia clinching a third successive premier class title in 2024. Bagnaia must finish inside the top two in order to overcome a 19-point deficit to Martin in the title fight.

Bagnaia

Martin

If Bagnaia wins

Martin must finish lower 10th or lower

If Bagnaia finishes second

Martin must finish 15th or lower

If Bagnaia finishes third or lower

He can’t be crowned champion



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Marquez came in as if no one was there

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO



Rising MotoGP star Pedro Acosta believes Marc Marquez tried to overtake him “like no one was there” after his early exit from Saturday’s Barcelona Grand Prix sprint race.

Acosta made a quick launch from sixth on the grid to jump to fourth place at the start, behind the Ducati GP24s of Enea Bastianini, Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin.

But heading into the tight right-hander of Turn 3, Acosta was hit by the chasing Gresini bike of Marc Marquez, with the impact ripping the front fairing off the front of his GasGas-branded KTM RC16.

The 20-year-old was forced to pit at the end of the lap and retire from the race, while Marquez managed to grab three championship points in seventh.

Speaking after the race, Acosta made it clear that he was unimpressed with Marquez’s move, stressing that he was ahead of him going into the corner.

“I was in front. I didn’t see anyone until Marc hit me. I was full on the right [of the track], [on the] inside,” he explained.

 

“He went in like no one was there. I will not say that it was his fault or not, but it was the third corner, it was not necessary to go like this.

“Even in corner two, it was Marc behind me, with [Franco] Morbidelli also. OK, he was able to carry more speed.

“OK, if you carry more speed you overtake me and when he started to close the line [and] I [got] hit like this.

“But anyway I was there. I wasn’t able to see him outside.

“I’m pissed off; it’s been a long time since a fairing like that came off [like this] in MotoGP.”

While Marquez didn’t take full responsibility for the incident, he conceded that the onus was on him to avoid contact with Acosta on that occasion.

He likened the clash to that between Acosta and his Tech3 team-mate Augusto Fernandez in Friday practice in which the pair ended up on the floor after contact at Turn 5.

«I am always honest in these situations and the touch was a racing incident, but if anyone could have avoided it it was me, he couldn’t see me,” he said.

«We met and he didn’t see anything, what happened to Augusto Fernandez yesterday [in practice], [it was] the same.»

Additional reporting by Oriol Puigdemont and German Garcia Casanova

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Bagnaia senses Martin nerves as MotoGP title battle goes to the wire

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Francesco Bagnaia believes he can tell MotoGP title rival Jorge Martin has been “nervous” in the final round, but insisted it is normal for a rider on the cusp of winning the title.

While factory Ducati rider Bagnaia has shown impressive pace so far in Barcelona to take pole position in qualifying and victory in the sprint race, Martin has been a step behind.

The Pramac rider could qualify only fourth for the season finale and Saturday’s sprint marked the first time he finished inside the top three in any session all weekend, as he finished third behind Bagnaia and the Italian’s team-mate, Enea Bastianini.

Bagnaia has now closed within 19 points of Martin in the standings, but with only 25 points available on Sunday, the Spaniard can clinch his first title as long as he finishes inside the top nine.

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Two-time champion Bagnaia explained that Martin’s situation reminded him of the nerves he faced during his first title-winning year in 2022, when he arrived into the final round with a 23-point buffer over Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.

“I remember perfectly [the] 2022 [season] and I think Jorge is suffering a bit [of] pressure but it’s normal.

“I saw all the weekend he was quite nervous and this is something normal.

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I think when it is racing, he can manage the situation well. He did a very good job today, he managed to start in the second row, he managed to finish on the podium, so I don’t think it will be that tricky.

“I expect a race like today [on Sunday with] Jorge cruising without taking risks. He will have a lot of margin because if I win he can finish ninth, so this is quite a difficult situation, similar to mine in 2022.”

TV cameras caught Martin looking visibly agitated during practice on Friday after returning to the pits, although he later explained that he was frustrated when his crew chief wasn’t immediately available when he stopped by the Pramac garage.

Martin was also seen shaking his head after being overtaken by Bastianini on the final lap in the sprint race, a move that dropped him from second to third and cost him two points in the championship fight.

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However, a podium was still a crucial result for the Spaniard and puts him in a strong position to end his stint with Ducati with his maiden title.

Asked how he managed his nerves on Saturday, he said: “I was quite nervous after qualifying when I was eating, I almost didn’t eat anything today.

“I was quite nervous at that point but I tried to ‘live’ a little bit, have cold water, a cold shower.

“For the race I was quite calm, I was in a good moment. The plan is to do the same things as always, so I will try to do the same tomorrow. I will try to be at my 100%, and if at the end I can manage I will manage, and if not I will push, [it] depends upon the situation.”

Martin had grabbed second place from Bastianini on lap five of 12 and was able to briefly inch away from him, only for the latter to close the gap back up again in the final stages of the race.

Bastianini, who is indulged in his battle with Gresini’s Marc Marquez for third in the championship, then pulled off an impressive last-lap move over Martin at Turn 5 to grab second position.

Bagnaia revealed he was making calculations in his mind while circulating a second clear of the two in the Barcelona sprint.

«Honestly, the last three laps I was studying the combinations,” he said.

“I wanted to gain as many points as possible and still have 19 points to recover instead of 21, two points that make a difference.

“I was hoping above all that Enea would make it, because I could see on the big screens that he was close. Besides, he passed him at turn 5, so he was very good».

Photos from Barcelona GP Practice, Qualifying & Sprint



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