Francesco Bagnaia explains strategy that led to victory over Marc Marquez
Francesco Bagnaia: “As soon as he made the second attempt, I tried to push again and the [1m] 37.4s arrived.”
Francesco Bagnaia stuck to his strategy in the Spanish MotoGP to out-duel Marc Marquez and secure his second grand prix win of 2024.
Bagnaia, who made a stunning double overtake on Marco Bezzecchi and Jorge Martin on the outside of turn six [lap one], then took the lead from Marquez before the opening lap was over.
The world champion then made a mistake at turn 13 on lap two, giving title rival Jorge Martin the lead, however, Bagnaia was superb from that point forward.
Despite being slower than Marquez late on, Bagnaia used similar tactics to Aragon 2021 when he snapped back at Marquez every time the Gresini rider made an attempt to take the lead.
Discussing his strategy, Bagnaia said: “When I saw that Marc was behind I pushed for two laps and I did 37.8s, but I saw that he was gaining.
“So I thought to not stress too much the tyres in that moment because he was catching. I just tried to have a bit more tyre for the last three laps.
“As soon as he made the second attempt at corner nine I tried to push again from that moment. And the 37.4s arrived. It helped a lot to grow a bit of a gap in the last lap.”
Bagnaia, who has already crashed out of a race this season (Portimao) following contact with Marquez, was in no mood to back down as the pair collided again at turn ten in Jerez.
That came one day after Bagnaia was taken down during a collision with Brad Binder and Bezzecchi.
Other accidents took place during the grand prix, but Bagnaia does not believe racing is too aggressive in MotoGP.
Asked if he’s comfortable with how close racing is at the moment, Bagnaia said: “Yes because what happened yesterday wasn’t what happened in Portimao. Sometimes the battles are more intense.
“We can have contact because it is harder to have a normal overtake right now because everyone is very strong under braking.
“It is easy to brake hard like this and the guy who is on the inside is going wider, so you have to try to close the line. It is something that can happen right now.”
The caveat to that being respect should always be given, as Bagnaia believes that’s fundamental to providing good racing.
For me, respect is always the most important thing,” added the world champion. “When there is respect there is a show and fun.
“Without respect it is impossible to have a nice battle and to enjoy it.”
