The reigning double world champion was obliged to win to maintain any hope of achieving the hat-trick and he delayed the deadline by dominating head and shoulders a race which he led almost from start to finish. The Turinese thus gained five points from his rival thanks also to his teammate and compatriot Enea Bastianini, who gave Martin a hard time and overtook him on the last lap.
“I did what I had to do with the pole position and the sprint victory. My feelings have been very good since the start of the weekend. I expect a similar race on Sunday, with Jorge who will not take risks and me who will have to win, so the situation is difficult for me,” admitted Bagnaia.
The Spaniard, who took care to avoid any contact with his opponents and sometimes controlled while taking fewer risks than usual, maintains a comfortable lead of 19 points before the end of the season scheduled for Sunday afternoon on the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit.
“I feel good, even if the race was a little tense. I drove as usual and the battle with Enea was very good. I thought I could control him on the last lap but in the end he managed to pass me. The most important thing is to have taken important points which give me a little more serenity,” underlined the Madrilenian.
Martin, who was in the opposite situation last year and had failed to dethrone Bagnaia, resisted the pressure perfectly and put aside his enthusiasm which sometimes played tricks on him in the past. “My goal remains the same for the Grand Prix, I’m not going to race to finish ninth even if that would be enough, I’m going to aim for the podium and the key will be to stay focused and drive intelligently, without taking unnecessary risks,” he said. estimated the Pramac pilot.
During qualifying on Saturday morning, the vice-world champion had already secured the essentials by securing a fourth place on the grid, a little disappointing on paper but which remains a good result from the perspective of the Grand Prix, especially since he very often succeeds in his starts. Like a metronome, Bagnaia, already the fastest in qualifying practice on Friday, had taken a new pole position to continue dreaming of an improbable turnaround.
However, even if he wins on Sunday and thus achieves a perfect weekend, this will not necessarily mean a treble since the Transalpine will have to count on a misstep from Martin to win the bet. Indeed, if the Spaniard finishes in the first nine of the 20th and final Grand Prix of the season, he will be crowned whatever happens, while the Italian must absolutely win, or finish second if Martin does not no better than 15th.
For the third season in a row, the MotoGP world title will be contested during the last race. If Bagnaia, who arrived in a position of strength in 2022 against Frenchman Fabio Quartararo and in 2023 against Martin, had won the crown the first two times, it will be difficult for him on Sunday to make it three.
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