Aragon MotoGP Showdown: Bagnaia Predicts Four-Way Battle Among Top Riders

Francesco Bagnaia anticipates a "four-way fight" at the Aragon MotoGP

Francesco Bagnaia: "I believe there will be a contest among the four of us. Enea was victorious last time, I took the win in 2021, Marc has won six times, and Jorge has consistently shown speed."

Francesco Bagnaia has been a standout performer in the recent Aragon MotoGP events. In 2021, he engaged in an intense battle with Marc Marquez to secure his first victory. The following year, he faced another tight contest, ultimately being edged out by Enea Bastianini in 2022.

However, the current two-time world champion and top contender believes that a four-way battle among the leading Ducati riders could occur during Aragon’s comeback to the schedule this weekend.

“I’m thrilled to be here as I really enjoy this circuit; the design is amazing,” Bagnaia remarked. “It offers a great combination of braking zones and high-speed turns, so I believe we can have a great experience with our bike, just like the previous two occasions when it matched the track perfectly.”

"In my opinion, all four of us will be competing closely. Enea secured victory in the last race here, I took the win in 2021, Marc has triumphed six times, and Jorge consistently shows great speed. It promises to be an exciting contest."

The Italian racer, who enters the weekend with only a five-point lead over Pramac's Martin, remarked, "It's challenging to create a lead on this circuit, and it would be great to have a race as competitive as those in 2021 and 2022."

Teammate and current titleholder Bastianini concurred, stating that "any of the four riders have a chance to win," and emphasized the importance of beginning the weekend on a strong note starting from the initial practice session.

The major uncertainty right now is the fresh asphalt, which, if it turns out to be rough, might give Bastianini an advantage.

"The fresh asphalt might make a difference, but we need to test all the tires first since we have three options for both the front and rear instead of the usual two. We'll determine which ones to use for the race after testing."

Martin mentioned that he feels like the outsider because he has not secured a victory in the MotoGP category at Aragon. Although he is quite close to Bagnaia in the rankings, he also hasn't claimed a win in a Sunday race since the Le Mans event.

“It’s been a while since the races at Le Mans, and although I was close at Sachsenring, I had an accident. Still, I feel confident and believe I always have the chance to win,” remarked Martin, who secured ninth and sixth places in the 2021 and 2022 Aragon MotoGPs.

"During the last two weekends, I was perhaps more cautious in my approach to earn points. Additionally, Pecco performed exceptionally well in Austria, which made it very challenging."

"It's a tough situation here. These three riders have already claimed victories in MotoGP at this venue. I've only secured a win in Moto3 back in 2018. So, I'm the one who hasn't won yet. I hope I can achieve that here this time…"

Marquez mentioned that he requires an impeccable weekend to have any opportunity to contend for the win, whereas Bagnaia, despite being ahead in the world championship, cautioned that he will compete with the same intensity as he did in 2021.

“Definitely. My mindset has remained the same. I aim to succeed. The main distinction between my initial victory in 2021 and now is that I currently understand the various methods to achieve a win,” he stated.

"If the 2021 race were happening now, I'd focus on widening the gap between myself and Marc to have a bigger lead. Nonetheless, the competition could be just as intense, and it would be amazing to have a similar battle and achieve the same outcome on Sunday."

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