In a “championship of errors” as described by Pecco Bagnaia himself, the Indonesian GP will have weighed heavily. On the one hand because it allowed Jorge Martín to win for the first time in ten Grands Prix (excluding sprint races, of course), giving him renewed strength before the stages to come. And on the other hand because it seemed to exclude Enea Bastianini and Marc Márquez from the first place with a very costly retirement for each of them.
Gradually, the championship takes the form of a Bagnaia-Martín duel, a remake of last year that each of the protagonists recognizes with more or less certainty at this stage. The Italian, for his part, still wants to show a certain caution despite the 54 and 57 points lead he has over the unlucky guys from last Sunday.
“It is true that as long as there is a mathematical possibility for Enea and Marc to be world champions, we must take them into account,” warns the Turinese. “Jorge and I know perfectly well, better than anyone, how easy it is to make a mistake or fall this season, so it’s something that can change quickly and I’m going to take them into account for as long as it remains mathematically possible.”
“But it’s also true that for half the season, it’s the two of us who have been leading the races and the sessions all the time, so I think it will stay like that until Valencia,” he nevertheless adds, aware of what is emerging over the weeks. “Since the start of the season, more or less, we have made the difference over everyone else.”
In any case, it is not the fact of having a single opponent or more that seems likely to influence the approach of the double reigning champion: “I don’t care if there are three, four or five of us, I just want to get my head back. For me, it doesn’t change anything.”
“Jorge was more consistent than me”
This therefore seems to draw a revenge of the race for the 2023 title… “It seems to be exactly the same thing, but opposite,” observes Bagnaia, today in the position of hunter, 21 points behind Martín. “I think it’s good to fight with Jorge again. There have always been fair fights and respect between us, so I think it will be the same this season. It’s good to fight like this again. It might be nice to have a duel between us before the end of the season.”
“In any case, it’s a continuation of last season, and not a revenge, and I think the best will win,” continues the Ducati rider, who knows that he has missed too many opportunities and intends to raise his level for the five remaining Grands Prix. “It’s been a tough season compared to both of our mistakes, but it’s true that Jorge has been more consistent than me. For the next races, we need to improve a little in terms of performance because We missed something in the last races. I’m in any case very happy to be there and to fight to the end with Jorge, who is super strong, I think.”
“Given the track and Jorge’s performance in Mandalika, we have to look at this weekend in a positive way, since I took three points from him on a track that suits him well,” retains Bagnaia, before tackling the Japanese GP, in which he finished second last year, behind the Spaniard. “Motegi is a track that I like and which suits my riding better compared to Mandalika. There are a lot of braking and acceleration points, so it’s more similar to Austria, which is a track on which I feel good about.”
While the weather could come to play spoilsport, the Italian has only one objective: to attack. He even considers that his rival could begin to control his position… unless it is a way of putting him to sleep!
“I think we’re in a situation where we have to be better than him. He can control a little bit more.” he believes. “The weather could be different compared to the rest of the season because it looks like it could rain on Sunday and for qualifying. We have to be prepared for any situation. I think our performance could be very good for get a good result and start taking more points back from Jorge.”
“The most important thing will be to be ready in all circumstances. Last season we had a flag-to-flag and we both finished first and second. In this kind of moment, I think we have to control a little so as not to take too many risks but also to score points It’s one of the most difficult things but also one of the most beautiful to do because it gives a lot of motivation, adrenaline. be ready.”
