The world champion rarely makes mistakes in qualifying, the challenger has acquired stability in his performance in the race. The two contenders for the World Cup seen under X-rays
– Milan
Gigi Dall’Igna, CEO of Ducati Corse, perfectly summarized what awaits us in the next 5 races after the race: “For us it will be a fratricidal challenge, but it will be nice to see them fight until the end”. Francesco Bagnaia against Jorge Martin, between now and November 26th it will be a very long sprint. Here is the comparison between the two contenders for the 2023 MotoGP World Championship.
qualification, better bagnaia
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The statistical data says that Martin has obtained 32 pole positions in his career, against Bagnaia’s 24, but since the Spaniard has been in MotoGP (2021) the comparison is clearly in favor of the Turin rider, 17 to 11, with 35 starts on the front row at 18. The flying lap is increasingly becoming one of Pecco’s strong points, who only rarely, and Indonesia is one of those exceptions, misses the qualification: this season he boasts 6 poles against Martin’s 2, 12 starts in the front row against the 5 of the rival. Which in the all or nothing circuit can be equally deadly, but he needs a perfectly balanced bike more.
departure, bagnaia-martin equal
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The latest development ofhole shot introduced by Ducati for the start, with the GP24 lowering even further allowing better use of the torque, it allowed Bagnaia and Martin to counter the rocket starts of the Ktm. This is a phase in which both Pecco and Jorge are effective. Martin’s sprint yesterday from 6th place to 1st in a few hundred meters certifies this, but Bagnaia also has one of his strong points in the start: remember last year in Malaysia, when from 9th place at the first corner he went to second right in the wake of the poleman Martin? Or the perfect ones of Jerez and Zeltweg (but also Barcelona, before the crash at the second corner) this season?
MotoGP riding style
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He said it without hesitation the other day Andrea Dovizioso, at the Trento Sports Festival: “Bagnaia is the strongest in braking”. Mario Almondo, Brembo’s No. 1, certified it alongside him: “Not even Marquez comes close to Pecco”. Braking is the world champion’s strong point, and he has worked a lot on braking and corner entry since his arrival in MotoGP. Having lost a bit of confidence at that stage, in the last few races, affected him. Martin, on the other hand, is above all instinct and pure speed, with great cornering and the ability to get the bike back up quickly. In terms of tyres, Bagnaia needs a lot of support on the front, and prefers the harder compound, Martin is more comfortable with the soft. Both then live in symbiosis with their crew chiefs, Cristian Gabarrini for Pecco, Daniele Romagnoli for Jorge.
psychological strength, equal fight
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They are both strikers, two who are not satisfied and always want to win. And who sometimes push too much even unnecessarily, a tactic that has cost heavy points: as happened yesterday to Martin, despite the 3″ lead (the same one a year ago in Malaysia), as Pecco did in Austin when he was on the run or in India, three weeks ago. Both, however, learn quickly: Bagnaia, as a thoughtful thinker, is building his fortune by consolidating every step. Having gone up a step, it is difficult to see him go down, Martin, more histrionic and impulsive, this year is finding a consistency he never had before: Mandalika’s mistake is the second mistake of the year, after Austin’s, otherwise he is always there in front and in the last 8 races he had always finished on the podium. Finally, Pecco is proving to be imperturbable on a nervous level and to have unshakeable confidence in himself: this is demonstrated by the 91 points he recovered from Fabio Quartararo a year ago, his return to Misano after the crash in Barcelona testifies to this, it is definitively confirmed by reaction I had yesterday during the most difficult weekend of the year. In Australia we will find out how Martin will react.
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