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Bagnaia recovery in Indonesia GP keeps MotoGP title pressure on Martin

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


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 to third in the full-length encounter.

After struggling initially to get his tyres up to working temperature after a bad start, Bagnaia ran as low as seventh during the early stages and would spend a large portion of his race behind Franco Morbidelli, Enea Bastianini and Marco Bezzecchi’s that were fighting for third.

However, after rising to fourth in the closing stages when Bastianini crashed out with seven laps to go and Bezzecchi out-braked himself at Turn 10 moments later, Bagnaia picked off Morbidelli to seal his 11th grand prix podium of the season.

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As such, despite an emphatic lights-to-flag victory for main rival Martin, it was Bagnaia who still came away from the Lombok venue having scored more points across the weekend in total.

“I tried to do the same start as yesterday [the sprint race] but the clutch had a different reaction, so I got a wheelie and it started to spin,” Bagnaia said.

“I didn’t lose many positions but after the start I was a bit too careful in the first laps so I started to lose positions and I struggled to get them back.

“My pace was very strong but it wasn’t enough to overtake riders in front of me easily because I need around 10 laps to overtake Bez. I was struggling with traction. It was difficult, but I’m happy because after yesterday we still gained good points.”

Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team

Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Bastianini pushing for second led to crash

Bastianini was left to rue the missed opportunity of a podium after crashing while in pursuit of Pedro Acosta in second place during the closing stages of the grand prix.

Having moved within 1.5s of the Tech3 KTM rider with seven laps remaining, Bastianini low-sided off into the gravel at Turn 1.

Picking up his a first Sunday race DNF of the season, Bastianini admitted pushing to capture second place cost him, following his own poor start.

“My objective was to win but Jorge was already quick from the start and I struggled a lot at the start with the rear tyre,” he said. “I tried my best to not lose any time but in the end we lost a lot of time.

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“I don’t know about winning the race, probably I think it was possible to get second position.

“For me with Pedro, it was hard because he was faster but maybe in the last two or three laps my pace was very close to him.

“I tried to attack him, to fight but I arrived a bit faster than the lap before. I was pushing very hard, trying to close the gap to Pedro, but I arrived over the limit.”



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Michelin responds to Bagnaia’s ‘strange’ tyre issue in Misano

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


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 on the podium as Gresini’s Marc Marquez closed in.

But even more curiously, the Italian was able to regain his speed in the middle portion of the race, leading to him breaking the 1m31s barrier and setting the fastest lap on the 16th tour.

In his post-race comments, Bagnaia pointed the blame squarely at MotoGP’s official tyre supplier for his contrasting fortunes on Sunday, saying it was the first time a rider had to encounter a rear tyre that «didn’t work» for the first 15 laps.

«The state of mind is that I’m pissed off. Not with Michelin, they can’t help it. I can’t be angry with someone who does something, but doesn’t do it on purpose,» he said after the race from which he eventually crashed out on lap 21.

«But it pisses me off: you take pole, you win the sprint and in the race you improve the start, being first on the first lap, and to see you [being] passed, with the others taking away almost three and a half seconds because you can’t push, it is something that really pisses me off.»

While Michelin is awaiting more data to complete a full analysis, its initial verdict is that tyres cannot be responsible for the wild swings in Bagnaia’s pace at Misano.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

It argued that if there was a defect in his rear tyre, then he would have been slow throughout the race and not been able to set a lap time that was good enough to qualify on the third row with over 10 laps of fuel on board.

«Pecco was in front for the first four laps, then he had a drop that we can’t explain: for four or five laps he lost three tenths.

«We have to understand where this is coming from, whether it’s something to do with the track, the bike or the tyres,» Michelin’s two-wheel motorsport manager Piero Taramasso told Motorsport.com.

«But from lap 12 onwards his pace came back and on lap 16 he set a fastest lap of 1m30.8s, just eight tenths off pole and the track record. He was coming on strong and looked like he could catch Bastianini and Martin, then he crashed.

«We are analysing it, but for the moment we only have his comments and lap times. When Ducati gives us the data as well, we’ll try to understand together what caused that drop. It will take some time, but we would like to understand what it was due to, because there are always new things to discover.

He added: «The strange thing is that the lap times don’t match Pecco’s comments. He says the tyre didn’t work from the start and only did so from lap 12 onwards. In reality, the times of the first four laps were good, so it’s after that that we have to understand where the drop comes from.»

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The new tyres introduced by Michelin this year have largely been a success, with riders successfully able to break long-standing lap records at most circuits.

Even in qualifying for the Emilia Romagna GP, Bagnaia was nearly able to set the first sub-90 second lap time at Misano as he clinched pole position on the Ducati GP24.

However, there still have been some complaints from riders about tyres occasionally not performing at the optimum.

These remarks follow Jorge Martin accusing the French manufacturer of robbing him of the title in 2023 with what he felt was a faulty tyre in the penultimate round in Qatar.



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Why it’s time for Martin to get his gloves off in MotoGP title run-in

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The events of Sunday’s Emilia Romagna Grand Prix will have far-reaching consequences on the 2024 MotoGP battle. While Francesco Bagnaia’s crash with a podium in the bag was obviously significant as it has handed a 24-point lead in the standings to Jorge Martin, it’s the final-lap clash between his team-mate Enea Bastianini and Martin that could have far more serious repercussions.

Whatever your opinion may be of the controversial race-deciding moment between Bastianini and Martin, the championship leader has received a clear message — it’s time to take his gloves off and go all-in.

To assess whether Bastianini crossed the limits of acceptable racing while battling Martin, it’s important to break down his pass into several parts. 

The factory Ducati rider was coming from a long way back and did go for a full divebomb on Martin when there wasn’t much of a gap on the inside edge of the track. While it may not be ethical for some, riders have been making such block passes for decades — and even Marc Marquez is infamous for leaving his rivals with no option but to concede position when he goes on the aggressive. Bastianini can certainly not be blamed for attempting that move when the reward was a race win in front of his home crowd. 

But it’s the second part of the overtake where things get interesting. There was just the slightest contact between Bastianini and Martin as they met at the apex, which forced the Pramac rider to sit up and go off the track. This is what incensed the Spaniard, who raised his hand in anger after feeling he had been denied a victory by an “unfair pass”.

But it didn’t end there. Bastianini then himself went beyond the kerbs at the exit of the turn, before rejoining the track in the lead of the race. This is where Gresini’s Marc Marquez felt the stewards should have drawn the line. Of course, Bastianini was distracted by the incident and did look over his shoulders to check where Martin was, but that doesn’t change the fact that he did not make the corner after completing an overtake.

Stewarding in MotoGP — and circuit racing in general — is a complicated and nuanced subject. Both the series and its four-wheel counterpart have been subject to criticism over vague rules and the apparent lack of consistency in decisions. To be fair to stewards, it’s not always easy to judge whether an overtake can be deemed legitimate or not as there are so many factors involved. But if the rider who makes the overtake subsequently goes off the track, then the rules have to be clear cut: either it’s acceptable or not. There should be no grey area in this regard. That’s not to say that Bastianini should have definitely been penalised for failing to stay on track, but it’s important for the series to leave no room for interpretation in the rules when it’s possible to provide a clear view.

This wasn't the first time that Bastianini has made a seemingly desperate lunge

This wasn’t the first time that Bastianini has made a seemingly desperate lunge

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

In this context, it’s important to look back at a similar incident involving Bastianini at the French Grand Prix in May. On that occasion, the Italian went for a similar divebomb on Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro at Turns 9/10, albeit this time with far more room available to him. Like Martin, Espargaro sat up and went straight, while Bastianini himself ran wide and had to rejoin the track.

The stewards did not take any action against Bastianini for the incident itself, but curiously he was handed a long lap penalty for cutting the corner. Of course, the difference here is that Bastianini gained a sporting advantage by not going through the chicane as intended, while at Misano he almost certainly lost time by running wide. But in both cases one thing is common: he was unable to slow the bike in time to make the corner and breached the limits of the track.

Future MotoGP chief steward Simon Crafar, one of the most respected people in the paddock, provided an interesting viewpoint on the Bastianini/Martin crash. The former 500cc race winner argued that riders should be allowed to race more freely on the final lap, but added that Bastianini should have probably been asked to hand back the position if they had clashed earlier in the race. Crafar’s line of thought will definitely have its own supporters.

«If the next time I need to do [a move like that], at least for me there will be no consequences» Jorge Martin

After all, fans tune in to watch good racing and it’s important to keep them at the edge of their seats until the very end. In fact, all three world championship races at Misano were decided on the last lap, showing how MotoGP and its junior classes are able to keep things unpredictable at a track that is notoriously difficult for overtaking.

But Crafar’s argument about stewards needing to be lenient in the closing stages of a race directly clashes with another MotoGP rule: track limits. As per current regulations, riders receive a warning on their dashboard after they’ve exceeded track limits three times during the race, while a penalty is applied if they’ve violated the boundaries of the track on five occasions. But any reported breach of track limits on the final lap leads to an automatic drop in one position, leaving riders with no margin for error.

So if the riders have to be extra careful about staying away from the green area on the last tour, should they be allowed to be more aggressive than usual while battling with their rivals? It’s something Crafar will have to decide with the rest of the stewarding panel when he takes up his new post next year.

Crafar's take on the clash is worth noting given he'll be making the stewards' call next year

Crafar’s take on the clash is worth noting given he’ll be making the stewards’ call next year

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

For now, though, there is one thing the rider who came off worse from the Misano clash must learn: don’t hesitate from turning up the aggression when the title is on the line.

Martin was visibly disappointed by the outcome of the Emilia Romagna race. It was his chance to take a first MotoGP win since the Le Mans event back in May and add salt to the wound of his title rival Bagnaia after the latter had given away a hoard of points with an unforced error. 

But, having shown a lot of maturity in the summer break in the aftermath of his Sachsenring crash, it’s likely that he will come out even stronger in the Asia-Pacific leg of the campaign that precedes the Valencia finale in November. There was already a hint of change in Martin’s approach towards battling his rivals on track when he spoke about the clash in the post-race press conference.

“We are not clear about the ideas the race direction has for the future,” he said. “If the next time I need to do [a move like that], at least for me there will be no consequences. Let’s see in the future. I’m not a rider that really overtakes like this, but I respect the decision and I move forward.”

Martin now has a substantial 24-point lead in the championship over Bagnaia with six rounds to go. But as this season has shown time and again, it will take just one crash or a poor strategy call (like the one in the first Misano race) for the factory Ducati rider to strike back in their battle.

So far, Martin and Bagnaia have maintained a harmonious relationship on and off the track, as they both continue to represent Ducati as a manufacturer in MotoGP. But with Martin off to Aprilia next year after being snubbed by Ducati for a factory seat, and aware that it could well be his last opportunity to win the championship, all bets will be off.

Martin has played fairly on and off track this season, but will that change for the remaining races?

Martin has played fairly on and off track this season, but will that change for the remaining races?

Photo by: Dorna

Martin will and should leave no inch for his rivals while battling for position, and neither should Bagnaia given the stewards’ decision to clear Bastianini at Misano without any investigation. 

Given how little there has been to separate the two riders during this season, it won’t be a surprise if their title battle goes down the wire in Valencia. That very much leaves the scintillating possibility of the duo duking it out for victory on the final lap of the final race of the season. And if that means the championship is decided by a clash between the pair, the precedent the stewards set at Misano last weekend would be to blame.

Bastianini celebrated in a manner befitting a last-lap victory

Bastianini celebrated in a manner befitting a last-lap victory

Photo by: Ducati Corse



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Bagnaia wants to be a Ducati life-longer but «never say never» about switching teams

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia has expressed interest in spending his entire professional career with Ducati, but is not ruling out a switch to another manufacturer if circumstances change.

A protege of MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, Bagnaia made his debut in the premier class in 2019 with Ducati’s satellite team Pramac before stepping up to the factory team in 2021.

With two world titles, 25 wins and 45 podiums, he is already the most successful Ducati rider in the championship’s history and is locked into the team until the end of the 2026 season.

Ahead of this weekend’s Emilia Romagna GP, Bagnaia’s 100th race in the top category, Tour de France stage winner Wout Van Aert signed a new contract with his Jumbo-Lease cycling team that commits him to the squad until retirement.

Speaking in response to that unprecedented contract, Bagnaia also said he would be interested in seeing out his time in MotoGP with the Borgo Panigale marque.

However, citing the example of his future team-mate Marc Marquez, who quit Honda with a year left into a four-year deal after the 2023 season, the 27-year-old also stated it is not a given that he will remain at Ducati all his life.

«I love Ducati. I think Ducati loves me but it’s never say never say,» he said in the pre-Misano press conference.

«We were considering the same thing about Marc when he signed four years here [at Honda] and then everybody knows what happened. You never know.

«I fell in love with Ducati when I was a child and we tried to keep always with the same mentality. We obviously love Ducati. But it depends also if something will change.

«At this moment, my mentality, my vision is to continue in the same way. I love my team, I love the people that are working in Ducati, not just Ducati Corse but also Ducati factory. If I can I would like to share with them all my career.»

While rare, there have been several instances where top-tier riders have spent their entire premier class careers at the same team.

Mick Doohan raced exclusively for Honda in the 500cc class and won five titles in a row with the Japanese marque during the late 1990s. Wayne Rainey and Kevin Schwantz likewise remained loyal to Yamaha and Suzuki respectively.

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Title run-in

Bagnaia is locked in a tight battle with Pramac’s Jorge Martin for the 2024 riders’ title, trailing the Spaniard by seven points ahead of his 100th MotoGP appearance this weekend at Misano.

A third straight title for Bagnaia is important for Ducati, as rival Martin would take the number one plate with him to Aprilia should he be able to dethrone the Italian in this year’s championship fight.

Bagnaia said he feels he is in better physical shape compared to 12 months ago, but expects the title battle to go all the way to the Valencia finale in November.

«More or less like Jorge I feel much better physically because in this part of the season I was not in a better shape,» he said.

«Our experience gives us the motivation to be able to handle the pressure and I think it will finish more or less in Valencia. But it depends from the results. [The remaining tracks] are all good tracks for us, for all the Ducati riders.

«It will be important to try to do a very good job. It will not be easy, but I love this part of the season.»

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Why Marc Marquez will have the hardest fight of his career in MotoGP 2025

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


The 2024 MotoGP season is tipping into the final third of the calendar, but there is a school of opinion that the 2025 championship is already decided.

When Ducati opted for Marc Marquez’s services for the next two seasons, ahead of pace-setter Jorge Martin, and paired him with double title holder Francesco Bagnaia it tantalisingly created another dream team: arguably the greatest grand prix rider of all-time against the best grand prix rider currently in MotoGP.

After more than a decade racing for HRC, four right arm operations and a slew of other injuries, Marquez has needed only half a season on Ducati machinery to clinch victory. He aced the Aragon and San Marino Grands Prix back-to-back on Bagnaia’s 2023 championship-winning bike and has edged into contention for a ninth crown, even if he insists this is not his target for 2024. This season was always meant to be a strategic transition to reach the confines of the best team, with the best bike and alongside the (other) best rider.

MotoGP fans can witheringly accuse Ducati of making recent seasons a ‘Ducati cup’. In 2024 alone, 34 of all 39 podium positions so far have been filled by GP24s or GP23s. A Ducati has been on a MotoGP rostrum for 59 consecutive meetings and the brand has had a rider on the front row of the grid at every race since the last round of 2020.

Those same fans begrudgingly must admit that the Italians have forged a possible inter-team sporting struggle for the ages for 2025; one that is already leading to echoes of Alain Prost and Ayrton Senna or any other similar clash of titans.

Marquez grabbed six MotoGP titles in seven seasons before his injury woes hit in 2020. He is the third most prolific premier class racer in history. Bagnaia has ruled MotoGP in 2022 and 2023 and is Ducati’s most successful grand prix rider ever, as well as the most seamlessly effective benefactor of Ducati Corse general manager Gigi Dall’Igna’s Desmosedici technology.

The fact that Marquez has now triumphed with two brands does tilt the appreciation scale a little further to his side against Bagnaia, who has all of his 25 wins in Ducati red. But the predicament for 2025 is the reverse of what he has encountered with team-mates in his career to date.

Marquez has now scored back to back wins for the first time since 2021, despite running a year-old bike

Marquez has now scored back to back wins for the first time since 2021, despite running a year-old bike

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Marquez will be entering Bagnaia’s domain, where the team, the culture, the nationality is firmly set to boost the performance capabilities of the double champion. It’s a scenario that racers such as Jorge Lorenzo, Pol Espargaro and Joan Mir had to confront when Marquez was the overseer at Repsol Honda.

He has had the foresight to spend 2024 adapting to the Ducati and assessing whether he can rise back to former greatness with a different motorcycle. But his third team in three seasons and second period of integration – for all his MotoGP worldliness – will be a question mark.

There are only four years between the riders: Bagnaia is 27, Marquez 31. But the Spaniard has six more terms of premier-class experience against the Italian who completed his rookie campaign in 2019 during Marquez’s grand opus of 18 podiums in 19 GPs.

«He is still growing because he keeps showing us even more accuracy compared to even a few races before» 
Cristian Gabarrini

It’s understandable that Marquez fans and admirers will assume that he will have the finest tools to lay waste to the series once more in 2025 and has renewed confidence through the affirmation of results in 2024.

“In ’19 my body was more or less okay,” he said in response to Motorsport.com asking for an evolution of the Marquez today against his 2019 pomp, with the obvious allowance for age and ‘mileage’. “Now it’s okay enough and I show on the racetrack I can fight with the top guys but, of course, I need to work a little bit more at home.

“On the mental side, now I start to feel stronger and stronger. Aragon, Red Bull Ring, and this race [Misano] gave me the confidence. Aragon was always a good track for me, but today here to lead the race, open a gap, sometimes you forget that feeling and today I was able to do it.”

Sporting fate can always intervene and routinely does so, but to assume Marquez will dispatch Bagnaia’s threat with ease is a woeful misconception of how the champion has emerged as the best rider of the decade. And, according to his crew chief Cristian Gabarrini, who has worked with Bagnaia since his entry to MotoGP as a Moto2 world champion in 2019, one of the Italian’s gifts is his ability to learn and improve, indicating that his 21 wins and 35 podiums from the last two-and-a-half season is still a journey in progress.

Marquez cannot take for granted that he will be able to overcome Bagnaia on equal machinery next year

Marquez cannot take for granted that he will be able to overcome Bagnaia on equal machinery next year

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“It’s incredible how much he has grown as a rider because in the beginning he was struggling a lot with a used tyre or hard braking and now I think he is the best Ducati rider in both of these areas,” Gabarrini told Motorsport.comin San Marino. “He has the capability to grow and improve a lot and understand a lot when it comes to important things with riding. I think he is still growing because he keeps showing us even more accuracy compared to even a few races before.

“He has improved in every area. In some, like the speed for a single lap, it was there from the beginning. He already had it but, for example, to lead a race, not make any mistakes and be very consistent with the lap time: he has built year-by-year, race-by-race so I don’t think he will stop.”

Bagnaia’s resilience under pressure is another forte that will come into play against a foe like Marquez. He demonstrated his hardiness with slim victories over Fabio Quartararo in 2022 and then pressure-cooker events like the 2022 Malaysian Grand Prix (which he won) and the season-ending Valencian races that year and in 2023. Bagnaia is also well weathered by the scrutiny of being the leading Italian for the leading Italian brand and the championship-winning Italian team; another parameter of expectation outside of rivalries on track.

“Every time you ride a red bike you have pressure and, in my opinion, Pecco is really good at managing that,” affirms Gabarrini. “In some difficult races he has shown several times that he might be in trouble but then ended the race in a good way. He never lost his mind.”

If Bagnaia wins on a Sunday again in 2024, then it will be his eighth success and mark his best ever MotoGP year during a half-decade spell where he has ascended from 16th to second and then twice finished first.

The Desmosedici is a versatile and conquering motorcycle that can cater to different riders’ styles. Six different racers used it to earn their spurs in 2023, but Bagnaia extols the finer points and was not afraid to demand that Ducati slow its engine ‘revolution’ ideas into an evolution at the beginning of 2023 and maintain the core strengths of the motorcycle. For him, that meant front end feel.

“His most important quality is the braking,” says factory Ducati rider coach Manuel Poggiali. “He brakes very hard and later with respect to the other riders. It is difficult to overtake him in this phase and it is then easier for Pecco to pass even if at the moment in MotoGP following another rider is not easy to ride in a normal way.”

“He is strong mentally,” he quickly adds. “He has made some errors, like everybody, but we can see that he grows from that. He understands why he made the mistake. This is one of the best qualities, and the mentality of a champion.”

Bagnaia's braking style is ideally suited to the GP24

Bagnaia’s braking style is ideally suited to the GP24

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

The joust of techniques, mindsets and speed will be fascinating in 2025 but fans will also be watching the environment at Ducati and the relationship between the rivals. The last time MotoGP had a team with the scope of talent and titles was 2019 at Repsol Honda when three times champion Jorge Lorenzo left Ducati to join Marquez.

Lorenzo broke his wrist pre-season. He could then not adapt to the RC213V. Fitness and the equipment doubts is a conversion phase that Marquez has already dealt with in 2024.

“Lorenzo was showing that he was Jorge Lorenzo and one of the strongest riders and, from the outside, looked like he would be one of the strongest competitors for Marc,” Harry Lloyd, HRC head of marketing and communications recalled to Motorsport.com. “Dani [Pedrosa] had dropped off in his last two years in terms of being able to challenge Marc but when the Lorenzo signature arrived, I think many thought it would be the dream team or a new evil empire.

“The reality was a little bit different, and Lorenzo really struggled with the Honda whereas Marc had his best ever season with first or second in every race and only one DNF, and there was also the teams’ and manufacturers’ titles too…by himself!

«If one rider is here then it’s because he has a particular characteristic, and it’s that you are pushing in the same direction as all the other guys» 
Cristian Gabarrini

“I think Lorenzo came in wanting to assert himself and make his way, but the situation he found with his style and the bike changed everything. When Dani left in 2019, there was also a big change with the mechanics on that side of the team whereas Marc still had his guys that were pretty well established. The other side were still coming together.

“The relationship was not super close [between the riders]. They were not going to speak to each other after sessions. As a team-mate, Marc’s relationship with Dani was a bit different and then with Alex [Marquez] obviously also… but then with Lorenzo or Pol [Espargaro] or Joan [Mir] he would not really hang out with them too much between sessions.

“If there was some sort of PR activity then for sure, they’d chat and joke around and Marc would be super-friendly. Otherwise, Marc was with his team and the other rider with theirs.”

Team chemistry could be tested at Ducati if its stars enter a duel and potentially a feud. But the Italians insist the foundations of the championship-winning squad is united across both sides of the pitbox.

The dynamic between Marquez and Bagnaia promises to be a blockbuster storyline in 2025

The dynamic between Marquez and Bagnaia promises to be a blockbuster storyline in 2025

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“I think we doing a good job with that,” assess Gabarrini. “We are a group of friends first and we are very close. On the other side we are the same.

“Marco [Rigamonti], Marc’s [future] crew chief and I have made family holidays together and we have known each other for a long time. I know him very well. I think there is no danger that something will happen inside the team, and I don’t think it has happened in Ducati’s history: if one rider is here then it’s because he has a particular characteristic, and it’s that you are pushing in the same direction as all the other guys.”

“The ambience in general in the team is fantastic,” concurs Poggiali. “We are a good team, and we share all the data. We analyse everything among us. It is important to follow this line that came from Gigi. If Ducati is at the top now then it is because of this choice. It is really, really important and stimulates the riders.”

Lloyd also sees this harmony from his rival’s camp. It means any possible attempt by Marquez to enter and scatter the pigeons might be met with short shrift.

“One of the challenges that riders like Lorenzo, Espargaro and Mir had coming into the Repsol Honda team was that Marc was so established and had this unit around him, this family,” he says. “Next year in Ducati, my understanding is that things are a bit more open, and the team are ‘Ducati guys’ rather than being Marc’s or Pecco’s. It will be interesting for Marc to come more into Pecco’s territory and I’m sure Pecco will probably try to convey that it’s his house but I’m not sure that’s how Ducati operates.”

For a few weeks at least, before Lorenzo hurt his wrist and discovered the task at hand with the Honda RC213V, Lloyd was able to appreciate the magnitude of two big names in close proximity and with their competitive instincts primed.

“It would have tricky if they were both fighting hard, especially Marc because I think he would have stepped-up a level to assert himself as the dominant one of the two alpha males,” he considers. “Lorenzo had an injury and didn’t gel with the bike. He was worrying about his own thing rather than competing with Marc. If there had been a real challenge, then I think you would have seen Marc do what he usually does…and eat people alive.”

Whether the plate of the 2025 and 2026 seasons will be served as Italian or Spanish cuisine, it will be another reason to make MotoGP unmissable.

Could the sight of Marquez celebrating once again become a familiar one?

Could the sight of Marquez celebrating once again become a familiar one?

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images



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Bagnaia slashes Martin deficit of Aragon crash with Misano runner-up finish

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Francesco Bagnaia feels a “maximum” second place in the San Marino Grand Prix has provided the ideal result to slash into Jorge Martin’s MotoGP points lead.

For the second year in a row Bagnaia performed a ‘phoenix’ effect at his home grand prix, following 2023 when he kept his pursuit of a second title on course with a podium finish at Misano just one week after a massive smash in Barcelona.

This time Bagnaia steadily pursued Marc Marquez to complete a brace of second positions in San Marino seven days after his painful crash at Aragon that had handed main rival Martin a 23-point advantage.

Pramac’s Martin made the wrong call to enter the pitlane during the flag-to-flag grand prix as rain briefly feel at Misano, while running second to Bagnaia, and could only finish a lapped 15th. As a result, Bagnaia recouped a considerable margin to stand seven points from his title rival at the top of the championship.

“It doesn’t taste like a victory because it isn’t a victory but it is still very good,” he said after the race in Misano. “I’m a believer! I want to win but today second place was a huge result in terms of the championship.

“Yesterday I was angry because I had the chance…but I didn’t take it,” he said of his runner-up result behind Martin in the Saturday sprint; a result that had pushed the gap up to 26 points. “But today was the maximum I could do.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Bagnaia also felt the recovery from his heavy Aragon crash added shine to his results in Misano.

“After Aragon it was a really tough Monday,” the Italian explained. “I wasn’t able to do much, and the pain was starting, a lot. We worked a lot with my crew and my physio and they did a fantastic job in the end. I’m very proud of what we did.”

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Marc Marquez’s second successive win means that four Ducati riders — Martin, Bagnaia, Marquez and Enea Bastianini – are now separated by just 62 points respectively.

“I never think they are out,” Bagnaia warned of his rivals. “I know their potential and the potential of their bike. As long as you are mathematically there then you need to believe.”



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Ducati’s GP24 «much simpler» to ride than last year’s MotoGP bike, says VR46

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


Former 125cc rider and VR46 team manager Pablo Nieto believes the Ducati GP24 is so dominant in MotoGP this year because it is much “simpler” and “smoother” to ride than its predecessor.

Ducati’s latest-specification bike has been the class of the field this year, winning 10 of the 11 rounds so far and locking the podium spots in four of the last five rounds.

Only Gresini’s Marc Marquez has been able to put up some sort of a challenge on last year’s GP23 bike, but he too hasn’t stepped on the rostrum since the German Grand Prix before the summer break in July.

This is in stark contrast to the 2023 season, when the then-year-old GP22 was reasonably competitive against the newest-spec bike from Ducati, with VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi even challenging for the title after winning three grands prix.

Opinion has been split on what makes Ducati’s new bike stand out from last year’s GP23, itself a title-winning bike in the hands of factory rider Francesco Bagnaia, and whether it is actually quicker than the predecessor.

Bagnaia and his championship rival Jorge Martin maintain that the two bikes are much more similar than what the results may suggest, with the Italian even claiming that GP23 has received more updates this year than his own bike.

However, most paddock insiders dispute that opinion and insist GP24’s ability to extract more performance out of Michelin’s new rear tyre has given it an edge on the competition.

VR46 team manager Nieto has now joined the debate about the two Ducati bikes, supporting those who say GP24 is superior to its opposition. However, rather than this being down to any hardware improvements, he believes that the newest Desmosedici is faster simply because it is much easier to ride on track — and hence push to the limit.

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing Team

Photo by: Media VR46

Asked if there is a big difference between GP24 and GP23, he told Spanish broadcaster Dazn: “A little bit, yes, it’s true that it goes in cycles.

“Last year, the difference between one bike and the other [the GP23 and GP22] was not so, so, so big. This year they have taken that little step. 

“More than the difference, I think it’s the way the bike is ridden. The GP24 is a much simpler bike, much smoother. 

“On the GP23, the peak power of the engine is much more aggressive. And that, whether you like it or not, makes the bike ride much worse.”

VR46 has to contend with two GP23s this year and has managed a single podium after the opening 11 rounds of the season, courtesy of Bezzecchi at Jerez in April.

However, it’s his team-mate Fabio di Giannantonio who has been making waves this year with a series of consistent performances, securing himself a contract directly with Ducati for 2025-26.

Di Giannantonio will be one of only three riders to have access to the GP25 next year, as VR46 steps up to becoming Ducati’s sole factory-supported team.

Nieto praised the Italian for the way he has turned around his fortunes in MotoGP, having feared he would be left without a seat in 2024 after Marc Marquez’s shock move to his former team Gresini over the winter.

“We’ve seen a thousand times that there are riders who don’t have a place and suddenly they start to do well and get results,” Nieto said.

“Di Giannantonio is doing a spectacular job. He is almost always the second-best GP23 [behind Marquez], which I think is very important, knowing that Marc is always there. 

“Between now and the end of the year I think we can even fight for a podium, which I think would be the main thing this year.”

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Bagnaia, Martin confident fierce MotoGP rivalry won’t change their relationship

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


MotoGP stars Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin say they won’t let the 2024 championship battle come in the way of their harmonious relationship.

Locked in a tense fight for the riders’ title since the beginning of the season, Bagnaia and Martin are separated by just five points at the top of the standings following the factory Ducati’s rider double win in the Austrian Grand Prix last weekend.

However, much like 2023 when they also fought for the ultimate crown, the two riders have kept things fair between them on track this year, while also not engaging in a war of words outside of the circuit.

Their championship battle is in stark contrast to some of the rivalries seen in MotoGP previously, including the one between Bagnaia’s mentor Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez that erupted to a point that it drew attention from the wider sporting world.

Speaking on this matter, two-time champion Bagnaia stressed that both he and his Pramac rival Martin respect each other as riders, which is why their rivalry has always been so peaceful in MotoGP.

“When there is respect, there is peace outside and war inside of the track — but also always with respect,” said the Italian. “We know each other from a very long time. 

“I never understand riders that change their relationships during the championship. It’s true that when you are fighting for the same objective you change a bit, but the respect is to be always there — and looks like it is still the same situation as last year [and] from when we from more young.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

Martin was magnanimous in his defeat last weekend, saying he had no reason to be “angry” at Bagnaia for outduelling him at Spielberg.

The Spaniard is in a difficult situation at the moment as he has already announced his move to Aprilia for 2025, complicating his relationship with Ducati.

But he hopes the respect he has for Bagnaia so far will mean they will continue to enjoy a friendly battle within Ducati’s stable, even as they prepare to compete for rival manufacturers in 2025.

“As Pecco said, it’s not last year or this year, we still have a lot of years to fight against each other,” he said.

“I give my best and [if] he is better than me, why do I have to be angry at him? It’s just respect. 

“If everything is respectful out and on the track, I’m even happy for him for his victory and I will hope this relationship keeps like this all our lives.”



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Ducati’s MotoGP advantage will begin to disappear from 2025, reckons Espargaro

Опубликовано от ASPPA IMAGES ANO


KTM test rider Pol Espargaro believes Ducati will slowly lose its stranglehold on MotoGP from next year, as the changes it has made to its MotoGP programme start to bite.

Espargaro, who took part in last week’s Austrian Grand Prix as a wildcard, reckons that Ducati will immediately feel the loss of Jorge Martin, Enea Bastianini and the Pramac team in 2025.

The Spaniard witnessed the Borgo Panigale marque score another convincing victory at Spielberg on Sunday, with seven bikes inside the top 10 being either GP24 or last year’s GP23.

The 35-year-old praised Ducati for the way it turned itself into a giant in MotoGP, a combination of boss Gigi Dall’Igna’s Formula 1-like focus and expansion to eight bikes across four teams.

But equally the eight-time podium finisher thinks Ducati’s most dominant days might be behind it after it scales down to six bikes in 2025, with the loss of two race winners in Martin and Bastianini dealing further blows.

“[Ducati] are very superior. I believe it’s the result of many years of having a big data advantage that other manufacturers didn’t have, among other things,” Espargaro said.

“They have been able to develop a lot faster and now we are suffering from that. But it’s normal when you have eight bikes on track for so many years when the others had two, or four tops. Having 50% fewer bikes on track is crazy.

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“[But] little by little it will reverse, starting with next year, since they’ve lost one team and a couple of very fast riders.”

KTM’s home race ended up in disappointment, with the marque’s best runner Brad Binder finishing fifth and 18.6s down on winner Francesco Bagnaia.

Espargaro finished in 11th on KTM’s test bike, while Tech3 duo Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez narrowly finished inside the points in 13th and 15th respectively.

While the gap to Ducati was startling, Espargaro took encouragement from the result, which put KTM ahead of Aprilia in the pecking order.

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«The first non-Ducati was a KTM. A long way behind, but we are not the only ones who suffer compared to the Ducati,” he said.

“Aprilia for example, when we are not fighting with the Ducati they are there, and today [Sunday] Aleix [Espargaro] finished two seconds ahead of me.

“We have all suffered here, and the ones that have suffered the least have been the KTMs.

“We came with a lot of desire and we thought we could do better than how it has turned out, but the thing is that it is very difficult to fight with the Ducatis.”



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