Let's talk MotoGP: Have you noticed this detail that costs Pecco Bagnaia so much?

This weekend in Malaysia ends with a new victory for Pecco Bagnaia in MotoGP, the tenth this season already. But, as is often the case, here he is moving further away from the world title. A rather paradoxical situation that can be explained, this time at least, quite easily. A new fall in the Sprint, probably one too many, has destroyed all hope of the title in Barcelona. What should we think of Bagnaia's weekend as a whole? Do his victories serve any purpose? Did he lose the title in Sepang? And above all, what is this detail that has greatly penalized him in this second part of the season? Analysis.

 

A fall not so serious

 

As contradictory as it may seem, this fall, in my opinion, is absolutely not harmful. It does not tarnish his season in any way, and even, it was legitimate.. I will have the opportunity to talk about it again later but clearly, the title was not decided at Sepang. The Italian was 17 points behind before setting off in Malaysia: it was high time to try something. It was necessary to push, and above all, in this precise context, Don't let Jorge Martin escape, while not being caught by Marc Marquez.

 

 

He fell while trying to get his title, and certainly not under pressure as I have read here and there. I much prefer this approach rather than yet another conservative race like he did two in Australia and one in Thailand on Saturday.. It was no longer time for calculation, it was up to him to go and make history. Expecting a fall from a rider as solid as Jorge Martin this season would only have amplified the disappointment once the campaign was over.

 

Two pilots and the rest

 

On Sunday, as in qualifying, there was no match. Jorge Martin made one of his best laps in Q2, but Bagnaia did better. In the race, both of them pulled away, immediately, and offered us a short but tasty explanation. Honestly, I didn't expect Martin to attack so much, even if he didn't take long to let Bagnaia go once he saw the difficulty of the challenge. The "Martinator", which we will talk about more in detail tomorrow, remained faithful to his line: He attacks, constantly, regardless of the conditions or his situation in the championship.

But Bagnaia was stronger, which was ultimately quite predictable. In 2022 as in 2023, he had been significantly better than Martin at Sepang. We can easily see the difference in level between the two and the rest of the field, which reminds me of the 2013 season. At the time, we knew that Jorge Lorenzo and Marc Marquez were going to dominate the majority of the sessions, and the more the season progressed, the more predictable and obvious it was. Here again, it was decided at the last race, here again, one had more victories than the other, and Here again, the one who had more victories than the other lost. But in my opinion, the one who had the most victories deserved the title. I don't know if I can say the same about the one who triumphed the most times this year, but we will have the opportunity to talk about it again.

 

 

A detail that costs a lot

 

With ten Sunday victories, It is legitimate to think that Bagnaia is stronger than ever. Yet there is one area where he has significantly regressed this season. Or maybe the others have progressed and he has not, let's say he has lost an advantage. These are the departures. Last exercise, I remember an exceptional Bagnaia at the lights out. His extraordinary projection capacity allowed him to put himself in an ideal position without waiting. Afterwards, good luck dislodging him, given his skills during braking phases. His sense of overtaking allowed him to put himself in optimal conditions very early in the race. Many past examples support this demonstration, but the most obvious is probably Indonesia in 2023Starting 13th, he managed to win also thanks to the fall of Jorge Martin in front.

 

 

In 2024, he no longer makes the difference in the majority of races, this was still the case in Sepang.. We see him struggling on his starting tests, sliding, sometimes twisting his Ducati Desmosedici GP24 until he almost fell! MotoGP current imposes good flights, especially against Jorge Martin who has more or less the same qualities on the handlebars, and the same machine. If he had made a better start, I sincerely think that he would have won in Sprint, for example. It is possible to repeat the season in this way. Conversely, when he starts well, it is almost uncatchable : take Japan for example, where he may not have been the fastest, but the others couldn't do anything once he was in front.

At this level of competition, there is no small detail.. All drivers will tell you that the start is the key moment of a Grand Prix in the modern era.

I'm curious to know what you think! So tell me in the comments!

As a reminder, this article only reflects the thoughts of its author, and not of the entire editorial team.

 

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport