With five rounds remaining in the MotoGP season and after the retirements of Enea Bastianini (Ducati) and Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) in Indonesia, the title fight increasingly seems to be a duel between leader Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati).
In a press conference, the Italian discussed which tracks might favor him as the season progresses: ‘I think this track is good for us, I think Thailand and Malaysia are good for us, so we have three tracks where we are very strong. And we have Australia, where Jorge is very strong. But I think the fight could be similar in performance like in Thailand and Valencia’.
Bagnaia emphasized that he needs to outperform Martín, as his rival is in a position to control the situation more: ‘I think we are in a situation where we need to be better than him; he can control a bit more’.
For the reigning 2022 and 2023 champion, the fact that the title fight appears to be reduced to just two contenders makes no difference: ‘I don’t care if we are three, four or five, I just want to be leading again. So, for me that doesn’t change anything’.