MotoGP News: Francesco Bagnaia Opens Up on Potential 2024 Championship Loss to Jorge Martin

Saajan Jogia | Nov 14, 2024

Apr 16, 2023; Austin, TX, USA; Francesco Bagnaia (1) of Italy and Ducati Lenovo Team prepares to race at the starting grid during the MotoGP Red Bull Grand Prix of the Americas on April 16, 2023, at Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. Mandatory Credit: Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images / Dustin Safranek-Imagn Images

Factory Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia, currently trailing championship leader Jorge Martin by 24 points, shared his thoughts on potentially losing the title to the Pramac Racing rider, revealing that he would be happy for Martin, as he believes both riders are equally deserving of the championship.

However, Bagnaia stressed that, when considering pure results from the 2024 season, he has outperformed Martin, having secured 10 wins across 19 Grands Prix. Yet, costly mistakes and inconsistent race results due to crashes have left him trailing in points.

On the other hand, Martin, who has only triumphed in 3 Sunday races, has effectively capitalized on the sprint races and Bagnaia's misfortunes to maintain his championship lead. This current situation is a complete reversal of last season, where Bagnaia entered the final round with a 21-point advantage over Martin.

While acknowledging that both riders deserve the championship title, Bagnaia also suggested that his performances have yielded better results than Martin's as MotoGP heads into the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona. He said:

“Absolutely, in terms of mistakes, I did a lot [of them] and if you want to be a champion you have to be more precise, more consistent and Jorge was more consistent than me.

“In terms of results, it's clear that we did a better job because I won 10 races on Sundays, six races on Saturdays. So in terms of pure results, we did a very good job.

“But I think both of us are deserving of the title. What I want to say is that it will be strange [to lose the title after winning 10 races].

“But in [any] case, [if] Jorge will win the title, I will be happy for him because we have known each other for a long time and I'm happy that a rider I know very well is deserving of the title.”

The 2023 season witnessed mind games during the final MotoGP race weekend, a tactic Martin employed, but Bagnaia confirmed he would not be replicating it this weekend. He added:

“The only thing I will do is if he will start [the race] behind me I will not push.

“But no. I know perfectly that on my side mind games are not working. So I never wanted to do, I never did and I will continue doing my job because then I think Jorge understood from the experience of last year that he just lost time doing this.

“It's better to do your job and prepare everything perfectly and then decide it in the race.”