After Australia, the Ducati Lenovo Team arrives in Thailand for the eighteenth round of the 2024 season of the MotoGP which will take place this Sunday on the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, and for its spearhead Francis Bagnaia, the Thai circuit introduced to the calendar in 2018 which has hosted the Thailand GP four times so far seems to be the place where the reigning world champion must imperatively regain the upper hand over his challenger. George Martin.
Not that the gap between the two men is huge, just 20 points when they each scored more than 400 (!), but since his weekend in Aragon, where Pecco has lost the very short-lived command of the championship, the Ducati top rider simply cannot regain it. Of course, the gap is never very big, fluctuating between 7 and 23 points during the following 5 Grands Prix, but the order he establishes imposes a certain pressure on the shoulders of the double reigning world champion, accentuated by the relative helplessness displayed during the confrontation on southern soil.
With 111 points, the outcome of the championship remains very open, but beyond the figures which have otherwise shown that George Martin led the overall standings 14 times to 3 Francis Bagnaia, the penultimate meeting will take place on the Chang International Circuit in Buriram, where precisely George Martin had achieved the grand slam last year: pole position, Sprint and Grand Prix!
It is now in the role of challenger that the Turinese will approach this Grand Prix of Thailand, with a lot of pressure and almost no margin for error. In 2022, Francesco Bagnaia climbed onto the third step of the podium at the end of a race heavily disrupted by rain, while in 2023, the one who still wears the #1 finished second at the end of a fiercely contested duel. Nevertheless, he arrives in Buriram confident, aiming to reduce the gap with Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing), if possible by registering his 11th victory in Sprint and his 24th in GP.
Francis Bagnaia (#1, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd (404 points): "Unfortunately, last week at Phillip Island we were missing something to be able to fight for the victory, but we knew it wouldn't be easy at this circuit. On paper, the Chang International Circuit is a circuit where we can exploit our potential well. However, it will be important to work well and be fast immediately, especially if we take into account the unpredictable weather, which could reduce the time to work on the bike's settings. As always, we will do our best to reach the maximum."
Thailand Bagnaia