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Expert’s “clean” or “dirty” decision in the case between Marc Marquez and Pecco Bagnaia in Thailand | MotoGP

Harry October 27, 2024

Francesco Bagnaia won the 2024 MotoGP Thailand Grand Prix by 2.9 seconds over Jorge Martin, but the most intense part of the race was the battle for the lead between Bagnaia and Marc Marquez.

In their battle, Marquez attempted to attack the tight, first-gear right-hander Bagnaia in the final corner of the Buriram layout.

However, Bagnaia managed to challenge him on the exit both times.

“Marc sent him twice from town center into the last corner,” Michael Laverty said on TNT Sports post-race.

“He was very clever and confident he could stop it without trapping the front or putting Pecco at risk.

“The cut from Pecco was clean. He gave Marc some space.

“Second time? He doesn’t take it lightly and presses her a bit.

“You see Pecco wants cuts; Marc tried to park the vehicle, but he ran it over to the curb.

“It’s not dirty. It gives him the message: ‘I am here, I will fight back.’

“Marc wanted to get ahead. If he did, he could get into a nice rhythm. It was something that shouldn’t have happened.”

Ultimately, Marquez crashed while approaching Bagnaia at turn nine. He remounted and finished 11th, but the crash immediately ended his hopes of a fourth win of the season.

According to Laverty, Marquez’s crash was not due to overexertion but rather to trying to extract too much performance from the front tyre.

“It didn’t seem like he was out of line,” Laverty said. “He was asking a little too much from the front tyre. Boy, did he try to save it.

“He buried his knee into the ground like a tripod. If it weren’t for the sidewalks he could have taken it back. You saw your knee slide across the floor.

“Unfortunately, this was his chance to win.

“I couldn’t see much wrong. He may have touched the gas just to keep the acceleration high. “He was holding it almost upright.”

‘Settling for second place is the right decision’

Marquez’s crash gave Bagnaia a lead of more than two seconds over Jorge Martin; Jorge Martin never threatened the Italian pilot, who took his ninth Grand Prix victory of the season, and closed the points gap against Martin in the championship to 17 with two laps remaining.

“He had a few moments that made him angry,” Laverty said of Bagnaia’s race.

“But he kept his cool and had a rhythm that (Jorge) Martin couldn’t match. Pecco (Bagnaia) was outstanding.”

Martin led early, but his mistakes ultimately dragged Bagnaia and initially Marquez back into the fight for victory.

“Jorge went on a run early, like he did in the opening round,” Laverty said.

“The space on the pit board was decreasing, so he knew Pecco was coming.

“He tried to improve his game a little bit. He put on the brakes too much.”