After 17 Grand Prix contests, the gap between Quartararo and Bagnaia is narrowed to two points and Aleix Espargaró refuses to withdraw from the title battle
Thailand ended an unlikely hat-trick of back-to-back races that started in mid-September at the MotorLand Aragón circuit and stopped in Japan along the way. The three title contenders finish this tour with at least one zero in their locker and the big loser is the hitherto reliable leader, Fabio Quartararo, who added just eight of the 75 points at stake. The inexplicable collapse of the French has reopened a championship that appeared to have been scrutinized for judgment a month ago. Just two points separate the leader from Pecco Bagnaia, while Aleix Espargaró, trailing 20 points, “continues to stretch the gum”, an analogy that has become the motto of his season.
Quartararo goes down and Bagnaia goes up, with all the power of a factory like Ducati behind him. Four straight wins for the Italian over the summer saw him rejoin the championship battle and although he has been more erratic in recent races, winning slowness and a bike much better than his rivals have brought him closer together. brought. then never leadership. His third place in Thailand tasted like victory, with the shipwreck of Quartararo in the water (17th) and the eleventh place of Espargaró. What is still not very clear is whether Ducati has decided to put all its eggs in Bagnaia’s basket or continue with a hesitant approach. And it is that in the last races Bastianini and Miller finished directly in front of Bagnaia, which prevented him from adding 9 more points to his locker and made him the leader of MotoGP at this point.
What we know from the mouths of the top Italian leaders is that they have asked the eight Ducati riders not to do stupid things when competing against each other and thinking about the brand. There are no team orders, but there are indications, as confirmed by Davide Tardozzi, Official Team Leader of the Ducati Lenovo Team: “All we ask of them is that they think carefully about what they are doing on the track and that if there is Ducati drivers, they try not to overtake dangerously. But at the moment there are no team orders,” said the Italian manager, tired of a debate that crops up in every race.
In Thailand we live a good example of the directive imposed by the Italian factory. Jack Miller, who finished the race in second, did not relinquish the position to his teammate from Bagnaia; and yet Johann Zarco, a Ducati rider but of Pramac Racing’s satellite structure, stayed at the wheel of the Italian for the last few laps and didn’t even try to put the bike on him, despite coming from behind a second later. came faster.
Against Ducati’s arsenal, which today has four riders with mathematical chances to become champions (Bagnaia, Bastianini, Miller and Zarco), Quartararo is alone in his struggle. No other Yamaha finished higher than seventh this year. Aleix Espargaro could have an ally in the form of his team-mate Vinales and, why not, Marc Marquez, who is getting more competitive every day and could take points from his rivals in his own war.
Anyway, the oldest of the Espargarós always sees the glass as half full: “I’ve had bad luck in Japan and Thailand, but now we’re going to two of my favorite circuits, Australia and Malaysia, where I’ve always been. very competitive. I’m just 20 points away and more motivated than ever.”
The first champion to be crowned in Australia in two weeks is the Moto3 category. Izan Guevara took a giant step in Thailand, finishing fifth and taking advantage of the fall of what has until now been his main rival, his team-mate Sergio García.
From now on, it’s time to keep a close eye on Italian Dennis Foggia, who is 49 points ahead while Garcia is 56. The Balearic rider relies on himself to become champion. While there are multiple combinations, the most obvious is that if he wins at Phillip Island, the title will be his.
Another championship that seems to be decided in Valencia is Moto2. After the race in Thailand was halted with only eight laps to go, half the points were shared, so from now on distances will be measured in decimal. And it is that there is a difference of 1.5 points between leader Augusto Fernández and the Japanese Ai Ogura. Just like in MotoGP, you return to the starting line here too.
Source: La Verdad
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