Bagnaia shook the MotoGP three-way world championship

If we use the forecasts for the start of the season of the earliest 2022 World Cup in the history of MotoGP that started on March 6, Fabio Quartararo, Pecco Bagnaia and Joan Mir entered all the favorite pools, a World Cup is considered three bands, and Marc Márquez’s injury has made him a mystery, but it is not removed. But Marc didn’t respect his injuries either and after Mugello he braked.

Of them all, only defending champion Fabio Quartararo has remained firmly in the lead consecutively from Portimao to the present. Pecco Bagnaia has one point after the first two races, he is 20th in the standings and his irregularity rules him, two races back at the Sachsenring he is 91 points behind Quartararo. And Joan Mir, since Suzuki announced his farewell, has become a shadow of the champion he was.

Mir’s comfort was taken by the unexpected Aleix Espargaró, who was able to stand on a bike that until last year was the Cinderella of MotoGP and is now one of the most complete of all circuits. He led the World Cup after his victory in Argentina and even Austin was classified ahead of Quartararo, who after his victory in Portimao led the square.

Throughout the Grand Prix the battle for the title focused on Fabio and Aleix, until Mugello separated by 8 points and currently has 22 after the crush of Espargaró who lost just one point with a broken leg at Silverstone. If we subtract the 9 points given by Montmeló’s mistake, the difference between them is reduced to just 13.

The problem for both is called Pecco Bagnaia, the man who not only had more victories than anyone else this season, four, in Jerez, Mugello, Assen and Silverstone, but also pole positions, four more, in Jerez , Le Mans, Sachsenring and Assen . It’s quick in the dry turns and quick in the race, but capable of throwing some victories. He has four zeros, some like the one in Montmeló that cannot be attributed to him. When Quartararo took the lead after Portugal he was tenth in the standings, 38 points behind. Two Grands Prix ago he was seventh with 91 points. But in two races he suddenly dropped 42 points to Quartararo and for the first time so far he is third in the fight, 49 points behind Fabio and 27 behind Aleix. And ahead of him he has favorable appointments such as the next three, Red Bull Ring, Misano and Aragón, where the alarms of rivals, especially the current champion, are lit.

Last year he suffered in his flesh because in the second half he used up all his credits. In the twelfth round (Silverstone) he was ahead by 70 points and they finished six GGPPs later in Cheste, separated by only 26. And then there was no Asian tour because of the pandemic.

This Sunday at Silverstone, their statements have defined them. “If you look at the last two races, Ducati won them, so I see Pecco as a more competitive competitor for the title, but it’s something we have to get used to. They have more experience, more bikes. When we arrived on Friday we were fast because our bike was almost the same as in previous years, but the more they ride, the better they know their bike and the more they improve”, said ‘El Diablo’.

Aleix Espargaró sees him as an ally to subtract and can profit from the fishermen: “The pressure is on Fabio. He is the leader and the one we all want to chase. Last year he rode here (Silverstone) and this year he was eighth. In the technical meeting, they said that we have to watch Ducati, that they are coming, and for me the arrival of Pecco is more positive, because he does not want to be second but to win the title. Pecco looked at the leader, who had something to lose, not me. That’s positive for me to win the World Cup”, he warned.

And Bagnaia, whose strings are pulled from the house of Valentino Rossi -he has twice suggested the correct rear tire to use-, prefers to continue with a low profile: “42 points to subtract is a lot, but I don’t. I want to think about the championship, just about being competitive in Austria. It’s important to take advantage of the situation.”