It’s difficult to dismiss the thought that, in Pecco Bagnaia, we are witnessing as near perfection in motorcycle racing as it is possible to get right now. There are simply no flaws in his make-up: fast in practice, fast in qualifying, devastatingly and consistently fast in races and, if he has made mistakes, they are few and far between and he immediately bounces back. In fact, he’s so good, that he makes it all seem so easy, which doesn’t always make for the most riveting racing.
Austria was Bagnaia’s 25th premier class victory and his seventh of the 2024 season, with half the season left to run. In 2023, seven victories were his total for the whole season. In 2024, he has only finished off the podium once (when he’s finished the race) and he is so in tune with his equipment that he’s looking ominously superior.
And, of course, the Ducati GP24 is also near-perfect, at any track and in any conditions so, when you have the best rider on the best bike on the grid, then a third consecutive title is all but guaranteed.
Naturally, Jorge Martin will have something to say about that and we can only hope for a last-lap-of-the-last-race showdown – not such a far-fetched possibility – but, compared to Bagnaia, Martin looks a bit wild, as if he’s having to try much harder; or maybe that’s just his style, while Bagnaia is silky smooth? Of course, that is spectacular to watch, but it’s consistency that wins titles and both Martin and Bagnaia are nothing if not consistent. While Martin has an enviable record in 2024, Bagnaia’s record is better when it matters; in the main races, with seven victories and two podiums to Martin’s two victories and five podiums, although Martin has the upper hand in the Sprint races, with four victories and five podiums to Bagnaia’s three victories and one podium.
The main problem for Martin is that, yes, he keeps finishing second; in the last four races – including Sprint races – he has achieved that but that’s no good if Bagnaia is ahead of him most of the time when the race ends.
The overall story is that both riders are so closely matched, which shows in the gap of only five points between them at just past the halfway distance.
The gap behind the Ducatis is something else again. This was graphically illustrated in the Main race, where Brad Binder in fourth place dropped further and further behind Bastiannini in third place. If he was able to hold off advances from Bezzecchi, it was a different matter when Marc Marquez came past after a disastrous first lap that had seen him down in 13th place after the first corner. With that in mind, a fourth-place finish for Marquez was something pretty special and, while fifth place was good for Binder, being 18 seconds adrift of the winner was not what KTM would have wanted to take away from Austria.
Marquez’ performance gives some indication of the mentality of a MotoGP rider; being able to put adversity out of mind when the flag drops. The problems had started 30 minutes before he was due to leave the pits when the front tyre of his race bike was found to have a leaking valve. The mechanics managed to change the tyre onto a new rim but that meant that all the temperature had gone out of the tyre.
The single out-lap didn’t get sufficient temperature into the tyre, and neither did the warm-up lap help much. Then, Marquez braked hard approaching the grid to engage the front ride height lock, which was successful. He then braked hard again to get a last morsel of temperature into the tyre, at which point the front ride height device released and he had insufficient pace to lock it again.
So, his start was already compromised and this wasn’t helped when he clattered into Franco Morbidelli at the first corner, sending them both wide. After all that, Marquez, who had rejoined the pack in 13th place, was able to dig deep and make it all the way up to fourth, starting with a front tyre that he knew wasn’t hot enough and which could send him down the road at any braking point, and the Red Bull Ring has a lot of heavy braking areas.
Similarly, but far more spectacularly, Pedro Acosta endured a traumatic time in practice and again demonstrated the mind of a racer. Crashing at the chicane failed to dampen his enthusiasm and he remounted and carried on, only to crash again spectacularly at turn four. Well, actually, he didn’t make it to turn four, instead losing the front at close to 300km/h way before the corner. The bike slid off into the barrier, sending it spinning back across the track, while Acosta himself slid for what must have seemed like miles, happily without injury.
While he’s crashed before, that was the first really big one in MotoGP and his weekend never really picked up from there, eventually finishing the race a lowly 13th, for once not being the fastest KTM. But it just shows you the mentality of these people: they’ll never give up!
If you want another example of the skill of these riders, you only had to listen to them after the race, where everyone interviewed spoke of locking the front brakes at nearly every corner. The Red Bull Ring comprises long, fast straights with slow corners, meaning a lot of heavy braking. As has been said so often this year, following another rider or a group of riders raises the front tyre temperature and pressure hugely and therefore reduces grip, so there is more danger of it locking, which is the last thing you want. But even Pecco Bagnaia fought front brake locking throughout the whole race and he was leading! Add to that rear wheelspin under acceleration in every gear and you have a track that looks innocuous and simple enough but which is anything but.
Spain is next on the calendar, at Motorland Aragon. This season is hotting up nicely and, even though both Bagnaia and Martin maintain that there is no reason for the relationship between them to break down as the pressure ramps up, there are often no friends in all-out war.
