For the second consecutive year, the MotoGP title fight is between Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati). After nine rounds, they are separated by only ten points in the top two positions of the championship, with the Italian in the lead. Jorge Lorenzo believes that the level of both riders is very similar at this point.
The three-time world champion of the premier class said on the podcast Dura la Vita: ‘I see the two as being very similar, actually. I would define them as two robots on the Ducati. They have a very similar riding style – they hang off a lot, are very precise, they ride on rails. The Ducati in general already rides on rails, but they take this riding style to perfection’.
According to Lorenzo, there has even been a certain convergence between the qualities of the two main title contenders in terms of the balance between explosiveness and consistency: ‘In terms of pure speed, for a lap, this year Bagnaia has taken a step forward, he’s a bit more explosive. And Martín has lost a bit of explosiveness to gain a bit of consistency in the race. So, their strengths were very similar [in the German GP]’.
In Lorenzo’s view, Bagnaia was stronger in the aspect of tyre management: ‘I think Bagnaia managed the tyres a bit better. If you look at that last corner, at the beginning of the race when he had two or three riders behind, at the exit of the last corner, the others got quite close; it’s as if in second or third gear he had cut a lot of power to manage that rear tire wear and carry it forward. I think that played in his favor at the end of the race’.