How long can Pecco Bagnaia v Jorge Martin MotoGP title scrap remain civil?

MotoGP title battles in recent years have come to be characterised by their general courteous demeanour.

The three-way battle between Francesco Bagnaia, Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro typified this, with the latter neighbours in Andorra and Quartararo a firm favourite of Espargaro’s son.

Then last year the duel between Ducati stablemates Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin never reached any real fever pitch. Both had the same machinery and the same support from their parent manufacturer.

The 2024 title battle is, after 11 rounds of 20, shaping up to be the same. At least for now.

Bagnaia retook the championship lead with a double victory at the Red Bull Ring, though it only put him five points clear of Martin in the standings.

Martin battled a thumb injury he picked up in a bizarre shower incident on Friday night, which hindered him a little in the sprint - though not as much as a long lap penalty for not ceding one second when he ran through the Turn 2 chicane early on fighting Bagnaia. Then in the grand prix he simply didn’t have enough to battle with Bagnaia.

“I mean, overall, with everything that happened during the weekend I have to be happy,” said Martin. “But anyway I am frustrated because I feel we are super strong, that nothing is missing to win races but still Pecco is doing that result.

“It’s just five points [he has gained in the championship], it’s not that important. The important thing is I make a bad result and it’s a second, so for sure this is important. My moment will come.”

Indeed, he really wasn’t missing much to challenge for victory. The poleman’s average pace across the 28-lap grand prix was a 1m30.288s, with Bagnaia on average only 0.122s quicker over the course of the race.

That did equate to a gap of 3.232s at the chequered flag. But it was in the finer details where Bagnaia made the biggest difference.

Bagnaia lapped his factory team Ducati in the 1m29s bracket consecutively from lap two to 14, and again one more time on lap 16, while Martin did so from lap three to 12 before dipping into the 1m30s. On fastest laps, Bagnaia managed a 1m29.519s versus a 1m29.621s from Martin.

Crucially, Bagnaia made the difference in the opening phase of the grand prix. After a very brief battle on lap two, Bagnaia emerged with the lead. From lap two to lap eight, Bagnaia’s average pace was 0.066s quicker than Martin’s.

That doesn’t sound like much, but the 0.395s gap it gave Bagnaia at the end of lap eight proved to be pivotal in allowing the reigning world champion to control the race.

Bagnaia then eked away from Martin, his strong early pace covering any problems he faced late on with traction as his rear medium tyre reached the end of its life. With tyre pressures a concern at Austria, track position is more vital at the Red Bull Ring than most venues.

It was fine margins that helped Bagnaia to victory, but they were noted by Martin, who said: “I think we need to change the strategy a bit. He, as you can see, has really good confidence at the beginning of the race with the full tank and he is able to keep that first position.

“I think after three, four laps, if you are first you have 90% of the win done. So, afterwards I tried to fight back at the end when my front tyre was refreshed a bit, but it was impossible to close that big gap.”

Though in recent rounds Bagnaia has featured much more prominently at the top of the standings on Fridays, for much of his reign as champion he has tended to work for the race in those opening practice sessions. In Austria, that work on a full fuel load was at its most evident.

“I worked a lot to have this kind of feeling at the start with a full fuel tank,” Bagnaia said after the grand prix.

“We always ride with the full fuel tank and sometimes it’s worse, but sometimes it helps because in the race we are already prepared. It wasn’t easy, it’s always very difficult in this track to overtake because if you brake one metre later you are wide. So, it was very important to be calm and not do a stupid manoeuvre.”

Bagnaia’s Austrian GP win equals him with 1993 500cc world champion Kevin Schwantz’s haul of 25 premier class victories. He has seven for the season now, matching what he achieved across all of 2023, though the championship battle remains tight.

'Why do I have to be angry?'

While not much came of their brief on-track battle, it did lead to a question in the post-race press conference on Sunday on how the pair have so far managed to keep their relationship strong despite clearly being MotoGP’s top two competitors right now.

“It’s not just this year, [also] last year,” Martin replied. “We still have a lot of years to fight against each other.

“I think if I give my best and he’s better than me, why do I have to be angry at him? It’s just respect.

“If everything is just respectful out and on the track, I’m even happy for him for his victory and I will hope this relationship keeps like this all of our lives.”

Bagnaia added: “When there is respect, it’s peace outside and a war inside of the track. But also it’s always with respect. We’ve known each other from a very long time ago, and I never understood riders who change their relationships during a championship.

“It’s true when you are fighting for the same objective you change [your relationship] a bit. But the respect always has to be there and it looks like it’s still remaining the same situation as last year, or from when we were younger.”

Bagnaia’s comment is a little odd given who his mentor is, and how his relationship with riders that challenged him changed.

Nevertheless, Bagnaia has generally led with respect when he has been involved in incidents and that’s unlikely to change as the stakes of the 2024 campaign heighten.

But can the pair’s relationship really remain harmonious if the championship battle remains so close?

There are several elements to consider. The first of which is the changing dynamic between Martin and Ducati. While the latter remains publicly committed to supporting both, Martin’s impending exit to Aprilia makes that seem unlikely.

The competitiveness of the Aprilia right now - who struggled to a best of seventh with Maverick Vinales in Austria, though Aleix Espargaro did manage a sprint podium - doesn’t suggest it is anywhere near a title challenge right now. Martin, therefore, must start to feel at some point in the next few months that 2024 is his best chance at a championship for the foreseeable.

That will certainly change the way he races Bagnaia if the battle remains tight between them.

But from Bagnaia’s perspective, there is almost no need for him to get wrapped up in any personal confrontation with the Pramac rider. He’s got the thing Martin doesn’t, which is a factory Ducati seat beyond this year, and Austria proved he is still the #1 - even if not by much.

So, will this remain a ‘friendly’ title battle? Most probably, but only because Martin has more to lose than Bagnaia…