Last year, the MotoGP title fight lasted until the final race, with the battle between champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati) and Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati). The two are once again at the top of the championship with some advantage halfway through 2024, but Enea Bastianini (Ducati) and Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) have not completely fallen behind.
In a press conference, Martín was asked whether he expects to see another two-way fight with Bagnaia or if Bastianini and Márquez will also be contenders. The championship leader replied:
– I don’t know, we’ll see during the season. I think the four of us here are a step stronger than the other ones. Let’s see. For sure I think everything is still very open, there is still half way to the end, so we’ll see at the end of the season if there is still a possibility for the rest.
Bagnaia also believes that, at this moment, it is still uncertain how many riders could fight for the title until the end: ‘It’s very difficult to predict what it will be. At the moment it’s true that me and Jorge are the two most consistent riders, but we also did many mistakes in the races. So Enea, if he finds the consistency he needs, and Marc the same, would be a good fight until the end. But at the moment it’s very difficult to predict, and right now I would say that it’s between us’.