Bagnaia describes MotoGP title battle as “a championship of mistakes” after Martin’s woe

Francesco Bagnaia has joked that the 2024 MotoGP title battle has become a “championship of mistakes” after he profited from rival Jorge Martin’s error to win the Indonesian sprint race.

The defending double champion had a strong start from fourth on the grid before Martin’s low-side ahead at Turn 16 on the opening lap invited Bagnaia into a lead he’d maintain to the chequered flag.

A fifth sprint race win of the season, coupled with Martin’s failure to score, means the factory Ducati rider has halved his rival’s advantage to 12 points ahead of Sunday’s main race at Mandalika.

The result was a welcome and unexpected boost for the Italian in a race many had tipped Martin to dominate, while Bagnaia jokes this year’s title fight is now descending into a battle of which rider can make the fewer mistakes, as he feels MotoGP’s ‘on the limit’ tyre performance gains are also playing a factor.

“This season it is looking like a championship of mistakes,” Bagnaia told assembled media in Indonesia.

“I have an idea that it has arrived from the performance of the tyres, today’s tyres are an enormous step forward.

“We are braking so hard because the rear is up a lot, so in the front we have more issues because we enter corners much faster.

“The performance Michelin has improved this season is incredible, at all the circuits we have improved the pace a lot but, when you are at this limit, it is closer to have a crash. So it is super important for the championship that we have to remain focused.”

On a weekend where Bagnaia has consistently trailed title rival Martin over a single lap during practice and qualifying, the factory Ducati rider nonetheless insists he always had faith of proving more competitive in race conditions.

“It wasn’t the best weekend until the race but we improved every session and we made a step in qualifying that we didn’t finalise because of the yellow flags,” he added.

“I knew my performance would be great enough to fight for the win so, when I saw the crash, I started to be fast and then slowed. So I was controlling a bit by pushing over the first three laps so I could control the last, which worked. I am happy [to win] today.”