How Martin masterminded his MotoGP triumph against Bagnaia

Another season, another duel between Jorge Martin and Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia. But this time it was a year-long fight; a gruelling contest of 40 battles. In essence, this production set up as a repeat of 2023. Independent Pramac Ducati tries to topple mighty factory Ducati; a private wrangle set against the Italian marque’s choking dominance in terms of both numbers and performance.

But casting matters. And one of the protagonists came to the stage a new man in 2024. A playwright might call it character development. Name it what you will: it was a subtly different performance by Martin that earned him success this time around.

The words ‘if’ and ‘would’ crop up with monotonous regularity in any analysis of an attritional tug of war that fell to Martin by just 10 points after his steady ride to third in the Barcelona finale. They’re probably swirling in Bagnaia’s mind as much as any this winter.

But going down that path only lands you with a book’s worth of fiction and an unfair conviction that Bagnaia lost this championship rather than Martin winning it. The reality is that Martin earned the title by displaying a better level of consistency than Bagnaia, primarily through falling off less than his rival.

This story is best told by the year-end podium tallies. Bagnaia won 11 grands prix to Martin’s three. Yet Martin equalled him on the Sunday podium count: 16-16. When Pecco won, in other words, it was rarely a hammerblow for Martin. He would be just a little down the road, amassing good points.

Now for the sprints. Each man won seven. Nothing to split them there, despite Martin’s fearsome Saturday reputation. However, Martin took 16 podiums to Bagnaia’s 10. See above. Martin nailed the right mix of speed and sense under the current system. This is what champions do.

And that brings us back to our leads in the 2024 run of Pecco v Jorge. Bagnaia, the analytical north Italian, was supposed to be the calm mathematician once again. Martin, the hothead from Spain’s teeming capital, was meant to be fast but fragile.

But nobody told Martin that he had to stick to his established character. So he found himself a sports psychologist, Xero Gasol, to help him tweak his approach. He learned how to get the best out of…