BAGNAIA EXPECTS MARTIN-MARQUEZ TITLE BATTLE TO GO DOWN TO VALENCIA

Pecco Bagnaia expects the MotoGP championship contest between Jorge Martin and Marc Marquez to remain close through the final six rounds, with the balance likely to shift according to each circuit’s strengths.

Martin leads Marquez by just two points after the Japanese Grand Prix. Bagnaia, Marquez’s Ducati Lenovo team-mate, called the battle “fantastic” and said the upcoming venues could favour the rivals in turn.

“Indonesia, for Ducati, will be very difficult,” Bagnaia said. He expects Marquez to be particularly strong in Australia, while Malaysia should suit Martin. Valencia, in his view, is a better track for Marquez. “So it will be tight until Valencia,” he said. “It’s a nice fight between them, and I hope to see the best win.”

Bagnaia’s circuit-by-circuit view leaves Qatar and Portimao as the two venues that appear less clearly suited to either contender. The Indonesian round is next, where the title fight resumes this weekend.

Martin was runner-up to Bagnaia in 2023, then secured the championship in 2024 with Pramac Ducati. Marquez claimed his seventh premier-class title last season, dominating in his first year with the factory Ducati team.

Bagnaia, who is having a difficult final season with Ducati, is set to join Aprilia in 2027, replacing Martin and partnering Marco Bezzecchi. Bezzecchi has won more races than Martin this season, though his victories came in the first half of the campaign. He arrives in Indonesia 49 points behind the championship leader. At the same venue last year, Bezzecchi took pole and won the Sprint before colliding with Marquez in the Grand Prix.