Written by: Silvia Cojocaru, Edited by Meghana Sree
With five Grands Prix left on the calendar and just 21 points between the top two riders, the 2024 season has given us some great battles, with the most important one yet to be settled. Ahead of the last stretch of races, let’s take a look at this Championship and where it might be heading.
The start of the season
Ever since the beginning of the season, the main contenders for the Championship were clear to see. Jorge Martin continued his tradition from last year by dominating sprint races, winning in the opening weekend at Qatar.
Meanwhile, the defending champion, Francesco Bagnaia, claimed the win in the first feature race. However, Bagnaia’s lead in the Championship did not last long. At the Grande Prémio de Portugal, the Italian crashed on the 23rd lap of the race, while Martin took his first feature race win of the season and the lead in the standings.
While Martin continues to lead the Championship, the Spaniard hasn’t yet managed to create a significant gap between himself and his rival. In fact, Martin has only outscored Bagnaia on seven out of the 15 race weekends so far.
Always close together
The duo was consistently close in the standings, even being equal for points after the sprint race of the Austrian Grand Prix. At most, Martin managed to create a 39 point gap between them after the Catalan Grand Prix.
What’s more, the two of them also had multiple memorable battles on track this year, making the season even more exciting to watch. One worth highlighting is their close fight at the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, despite neither of them taking home the victory.
On the opening laps Martin tried to overtake Bagnaia and the two of them were shoulder to shoulder for a large part of the race. That was until Bagnaia crashed from third place with just seven laps remaining, putting an end to what should’ve been his chance to pass Martin in the Championship.
Another significant moment came at the San Marino Grand Prix when the wrong strategy call caused Martin to only score one point in the feature race. The Spaniard has his compatriot, Marc Marquez, to thank as he managed to keep Bagnaia away from the first step of the podium.
These races could act as a summary of the season so far, as more often than not, the two riders started on equal footing, only for the point difference to be made when one of them would make a mistake. It’s clear that the high stakes have the riders under immense pressure to perform, as there’s never been a time when a comfortable gap formed between them.
Predictions
Overall, Martins seems to be the more consistent top scorer of the duo, but you can never underestimate Bagnaia, who has been known to perform when he needs to the most. What makes their battle even more intriguing is the amount of talent surrounding them, also battling for points and even a chance at the Championship.
Between Marquez starting to win again, Enea Bastianini having some amazing moments, and even Pedro Acosta looking to cement his name into the MotoGP hall of fame, just making your way through the pack is a difficult battle in itself, and even second place in the standing is not guaranteed.
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