Martin has “improved in every aspect” but Bagnaia has “no weak points”

MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi has weighed in on the title battle between his protege Francesco Bagnaia and Pramac rival Jorge Martin in 2024.

With no clashing commitments to his GT racing programme with BMW, seven-time champion Rossi is attending this weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix at Spielberg and has already spent a considerable amount of time trackside in his role as the owner of the VR46 team.

The Italian has also been taking a close look at the performances of Bagnaia and Martin, who have once again proved to be a class apart from the rest. The two qualified half a second clear of the field and also locked out the top spots in Saturday’s sprint, making them the prime contenders for victory on Sunday.

Rossi knows Bagnaia very well through the latter’s time at VR46 in Moto2 and has supported his career in MotoGP ever since, while Martin has also come under his radar following his impressive title challenge in 2023.

The 45-year-old praised Pramac rider Martin for raising his game and improving his craft in every area, but thinks beating Bagnaia will be tough as he has no “weak points” remaining in MotoGP.

“Martin is there, he always manages to have that little bit more, he is very calm, he rides well and is incredibly fast,” he told Italian broadcaster Sky Sport. “He has improved a lot in all aspects [but] at the moment Bagnaia does not have a weak point.

“He’s got the [one] lap [speed], he always gets the start and that’s a very important thing. It’s something that champions like [Max] Verstappen do [in Formula 1]. Always starting well is not easy, every now and then you happen to make a mistake, but he is always there. Then he’s incredibly fast.

“Lately, under pressure he is giving his best. This is Bagnaia’s strength for me: he is aggressive, but he is not dirty. He is clean, but he is not sweet. It’s the right mix of wickedness, aggressiveness. He rides the Ducati with oversteer under braking, but also the mileage [on tyres] and not making mistakes. Now it’s hard to beat [him] but I’m there with Martin.”

The title battle has swung between the two Ducati riders a number of times in the first half of the season, with Martin opening up a big lead after Le Mans and Bagnaia reversing that advantage with four successive grand prix wins.

Martin was on the back foot heading into the summer break in July, but showed great resolve at the last round…