Gigi Dall’Igna is gloating and it couldn’t be otherwise. A top five is already an amazing result in itself in MotoGP, but doing it at the enemy’s home is even more enjoyable. Ducati, in fact, did it in Motegi, on the Honda track, confirming its absolute domination in the 2024 season: with the Manufacturers’ title already on the board, now the Borgo Panigale company also has the certainty that it will be one of its riders sit on the world championship throne, given that Artimetica only keeps Jorge Martin, Pecco Bagnaia, Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez in the running with 4 GPs to go.
And the fight heated up further in Japan, with Bagnaia who was able to show off a fabulous double: “Another splendid finishing order with 5 Ducatis in the top 5 positions. In particular, a perfect weekend for Pecco who signed a double, the fourth this year, with the seal of the eighth victory of the season in a long race as only a few champions have been able to do in the history of MotoGP”, said Dall’Igna in the blog with which he comments on the race weekend on the company website Ducati.
“Once again and in the moments that matter he was able to manage with absolute mastery the technical and competitive resources at his disposal, optimizing them to the best of his ability; not only did he reduce the gap in the standings but he reaffirmed his strength and determination, his psychological stability in a season finale that appears to be incandescent and highly exciting. With a great start he immediately imposed himself in a race that he dominated from the first to the last lap, a masterpiece built with intelligence, experience and a lot of speed, always keeping pace. I control the advantage over Martin.”
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Photo credit: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The general director of the racing department also had some nice words for the leader Martin, who with two beautiful comebacks from 11th place on the grid maintains a margin of 10 points over Pecco: “A Martin who, in other ways, is not to be less: a monstrous first lap, which sees him already close to the leaders, anticipates a crazy comeback that takes him to second position and also fights for the top, only to then realize that he has to settle for an honorable placing worth its weight in gold. He limited the damage in an exemplary way both in the Sprint and in Sunday’s race, maintaining faith in a World Championship conducted so far in a great way; it was a weekend of chase conditioned ‘only’ by the unfortunate position on the starting grid.”
Bastianini and Marquez are also still in the running for the title, having missed out on the bottom step of the podium in Motegi. With over 70 points behind, however, for them it seems that a fight that will put third place in the World Championship at stake seems to have begun: “An important podium for Marquez after a complicated qualifying. He was good at repelling the attempts of a Bastianini as usual, fierce and protagonist in the second part of the race after an uncertain start which marked the entire race for him. It should be noted that between them there is a prestigious third place in the world championship at stake with a gap now of only 2 points”.
As mentioned, it is only these four who are still in the running for the arithmetic, so at the gates of Bologna they can already start planning the end of year party, given that the title will remain in Ducati: “Speaking of iris… how do you they say, whatever happens it will be a success! Yes, mission accomplished: mathematics tells us that one of our riders will still be on top of the world and this fills us with pride and prepares us for a great Ducati party regardless of who will be Champion; we are ready to enjoy a spectacular finale which will truly be spectacular if experienced in the spirit of sportsmanship, which must always distinguish a sport like ours and show all its beauty!”, he concluded.
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