Let’s talk MotoGP: Pecco Bagnaia said “stop”

In Indonesia, Pecco Bagnaia said: “enough is enough”. It's hard to believe right now, but we just witnessed one of the most incredible performances of all time, nothing more, nothing less. After Misano and Sepang last year and Jerez in 2023, he offers us a monumental performance. The championship has just experienced its second turning point.

 

Pecco Bagnaia says “stop”, the motorcycle planet is silent

 

There is nothing to complain about his achievement. Nothing. I'm talking here about his Sunday race, because his start to the weekend was more than delicate with a missed Friday, but above all, a poor Saturday; not even qualified in Q2, and stuck behind his teammate Enea Bastianini during the Sprint. From then on, the negative comments continued to rain in, further calling into question his mentality.

I will affirm it here, and will say it again if necessary; not only does Pecco Bagnaia have mentality, but it is the one with the most on this grid. This myth must stop. A driver who has gained more than 90 points over half a season, who has already found himself in back-to-the-wall situations – notably at Sepang last year, with a sumptuous victory from the middle of the pack – is anything but feverish.

 

 

Mandalika 2023 is just another illustration of this phenomenon. While everyone begins to bet against him, while he still pays for his rather quiet and reserved state of mind, while Jorge Martín and Marc Márquez put extra pressure on him in the media, he still delivers a masterpiece. What more do you need? When he is in a state of grace, the motorcycle world must shut up and appreciate.

 

Jorge Martín would not have been capable of it

 

Let's quickly return to this jewel of mastery. Mastery, because despite a fairly impressive commitment, particularly in the first laps, Pecco Bagnaia never seemed to be in disaster. He's efficiency personified, the opposite of Brad Binder. Despite the pressure, he proved, once again if necessary, that he was the best driver in the world.

Because in my opinion, there is no doubt about it. It’s an accepted choice but subjectivity is the soul of this section. Champion or not, I think Pecco is the best, number 1. Jorge Martín is excellent and I had already written about his infinite potential at the end of 2022, before he really showed what he was capable of. But Bagnaia is a cut above, everywhere. Many claim that the “Martinator” is faster, more explosive; cold, hard results do not support this view. I doubt that he would have been capable of such a breakthrough from 13th position because we have already seen him in difficulty when he starts from afar, even if his racing IQ no longer needs to be demonstrated.

 

 

Bagnaia Advantage

 

Even Francesco would not have dared to dream of such a dynamic scenario. THE momentum changed sides in a fall; not because the Ducati official won, but because Martín fell “like Pecco”.

 

 

This is what we must remember from this round. Jorge Martín loses more than the championship lead; it's almost trivial with eight races to go including the Sprints. He loses his totem of invincibility. In the short format, in particular, everything he touched turned into gold. The ludicrous start, the incredible braking, the overtaking at the limit; nothing could happen to him. Until this error. The “Martinator” was hit.

Now it will be very interesting to see how he reacts, in turn, because he still has less pressure than Bagnaia due to his status as a satellite driver. Luca Marini, on Saturday, said that Pecco had to beat Jorge in a duel to regain confidence and the path to the title. It's even better than that, it's a standing knockout.

Since the start of the season, I have been studying the dynamic and it has just asserted itself in favor of the Italian, that is a certainty. Traditionally, in the history of sports, it is rare for it to change sides three times over the course of a season. Here, we have already witnessed the Bagnaia domination before his fall in Barcelona, ​​then the Martín demonstration which followed the qualifications in Misano. Now she is back in favor of Bagnaia but nothing is decided; as a reminder, it is possible to be titled against the dynamic – 2013 is a very good example, with an almost perfect end to the season from Jorge Lorenzo, while Marc Márquez took the crown MotoGP. Or, more recently, Fabio Quartararo in 2021.

In any case, this offers us a titanic fight. Who do you see titled at the end of the season? Tell me in the comments!

 

 

Cover photo: Michelin Motorsport