For Francesco Bagnaia, the decision in the San Marino Grand Prix was clear: it wasn’t wet enough for bike changes – P2 behind Marc Marquez “the maximum ”
While Marc Marquez took more risks in the decisive phase of the San Marino Grand Prix in Misano on Sunday and thus laid the foundation for his second MotoGP race win in seven days, Francesco Bagnaia took it a little easier in this phase.
Bagnaia was unable to get past Marquez after being overtaken by the latter on a damp track. However, Bagnaia can still live with second place because world championship leader Jorge Martin only finished P15 after his bike change tactics backfired.
“This result doesn’t taste like a win because it’s not a win,” said Bagnaia after P2. “But it still tastes good. Yesterday I was angry because I had the chance to win and I didn’t take it. Today I took the maximum. Victory was hardly possible today. “
HERE WE GO! @88jorgemartin has seen enough and HE SWAPS BIKES! ️SanMarinoGP pic.twitter.com/jFfDfy5t4Q
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) September 8, 2024
The way Jorge Martin did it, namely coming into the pits to change bikes, was not on Bagnaia’s mind. “I know what it smells like here when it rains,” says the Italian and is absolutely serious: ”I’m talking about the smell we had here in the paddock on Thursday when the rain came. It was a completely different smell to today. “
Bagnaia and Bastianini rely on instinct
Bagnaia’s Ducati teammate Enea Bastianini expressed similar sentiments after his third place on Sunday. When it came to weighing up whether it was better to come into the pits to change to the bike with rain tires or to stay on the track with the slick-tired bike, Bastianini, who lives less than 30 kilometers away in Rimini, also relied on his instincts and experience.
One of the local heroes, however, was deceived by his instincts. Franco Morbidelli also stayed on the track in the decisive phase of the race, when the raindrops were at their heaviest. He slid into the gravel on the damp track in turn 1 and was out of the race
Rain is falling heavier ️
And @FrankyMorbido12 is OUT of contention at T1 SanMarinoGP pic.twitter.com/GyNwdlDHKm
– MotoGP™ (@MotoGP) September 8, 2024
Morbidelli’s crash happened just before Pramac teammate Jorge Martin decided to turn into the pit lane in second place behind Bagnaia. It was a decision that the championship-leading Spaniard reversed just three laps later, coming into the pits a second time to change bikes.
Looking back, Martin admits that he should have followed Bagnaia’s example and stayed out. The winner Marc Marquez, who deliberately followed Bagnaia’s lead, did exactly the same, namely staying out.
Marquez passed Bagnaia because he took more risks on the Gresini Ducati in this phase of the race. And shortly afterwards, Bagnaia was informed by the pit board that there would be little to gain for world championship leader Martin. As a result, “Pecco” had no major problem settling for P2 behind Marquez because he had the world championship in the back of his mind
“Even when Morbidelli crashed, I slowed down a bit. I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. And after Martin pitted, that was even more true,” said Bagnaia after the race. Nevertheless, if the circumstances had allowed it, he would have liked to have won himself.
“I’ve now failed to win two races in a row here,” said Bagnaia, thinking about the 2023 San Marino Grand Prix (won by Jorge Martin) and the 2024 San Marino Grand Prix on Sunday, and said: ‘I wanted to give my fans, who always cheer me on so much here, a gift that was a bit bigger than a second place. ’
Bagnaia is far from writing off Marquez/Bastianini
In the 2024 MotoGP overall standings, championship leader Jorge Martin’s lead shrank to seven points on Sunday in Misano. Francesco Bagnaia is still the one closest on the Pramac rider’s heels. But Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini also made up some points on Martin with their first and third places respectively on Sunday
Ahead of the second Misano race weekend, the Grand Prix of Emilia-Romagna (September 20-22), the top four in the championship standings are now separated by just 62 points. Looking at this starting position, Bagnaia says: “You never know what will happen. I myself, for example, was still 26 points behind yesterday. Now it’s seven points.”
And about his own pursuers in the championship standings – Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini – Bagnaia says: “As long as it is mathematically possible, you have to keep the other riders in mind. You can always count on riders like Marc and Enea. I never thought that they would be out [of the World Championship battle]. Because I know their potential and the potential of their bikes. I know that they can fight for the title until Valencia. “
