Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin emphasize their good relationship in the second year in which they fight each other for the premier class title
The battle for the world title in the 2023 MotoGP season was decided between Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin. The decision was only made at the season finale in Valencia, in favor of Bagnaia, who successfully defended his 2022 world title.
After eleven of 20 race weekends in the 2024 MotoGP season, Bagnaia and Martin are once again the two top contenders for the title. Although Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez are far from out of the title fight, they are already a long way behind in the current 2024 MotoGP overall standings. This is even more true for those in fifth place or higher in the standings.
Bagnaia and Martin have known each other well for many years. In the 2015 and 2016 Moto3 seasons, they were team-mates in the Aspar racing team, which raced on Mahindra bikes at the time. “We slept in the same room back then and always played Formula 1 or MotoGP on the PlayStation in the evenings,” said Bagnaia in the autumn of 2023, when Martin first emerged as a title rival in the premier class.
“Our relationship is always characterized by mutual respect,” emphasized ‘Pecco’ in last season’s World Championship battle. And Martin emphasized at the time that “mutual respect has always remained”. Almost a year later, nothing has changed
Bagnaia: “Respect must always be there ”
Both Bagnaia and Martin also attach great importance to respect in this year’s MotoGP title fight. “We’ve both known each other for so long. I’ve never understood it when riders change their relationship with each other as soon as they fight for a world title,” said Bagnaia after his seventh win of the 2024 season, which he clinched last Sunday in Spielberg (Austria).
“The respect must always be there. It was the same last year as it was when we were young. And it looks like that’s still the case,” said the current world championship leader in the service of the Ducati works team.
Pramac rider Martin, who is riding his last season in a Ducati team before switching to Aprilia next winter, agrees: “I see it like ‘Pecco’. It’s not just about last year and this year. I think we still have many years ahead of us in which we will fight against each other. “
Martin: “Why should I be angry with him? ”
Looking back at the previous Austrian weekend, where he was beaten by Bagnaia in both the sprint and the Grand Prix, Martin says: “If I do my best but he’s better than me, why should I be angry with him?”
“As long as everything is done with respect on and off the track, I’m also happy for him when he wins,” emphasizes Martin. The Spaniard’s final sentence on the subject of Bagnaia is as follows: “I hope that our relationship, as it is, will last for the rest of our lives. ”
