Bagnaia Reflects on What Could Have Been a Legendary Last-Lap Duel with Martin at German MotoGP

Francesco Bagnaia: 'It had the potential to be an epic final-lap showdown…'

Francesco Bagnaia believes the German MotoGP might have turned into an epic showdown on the final lap between himself, the defending champion, and Jorge Martin.

Francesco Bagnaia is of the opinion that Jorge Martin’s fall while leading the German MotoGP race deprived spectators of potentially witnessing one of the most thrilling final-lap showdowns.

The current world champion reduced Martin's lead in the race to merely half a second as they commenced the second-to-last lap.

However, the dramatic conclusion was overshadowed by a haze of gravel dust as the Pramac Ducati competitor unexpectedly wiped out at the first turn.

"Today, my focus was on being extremely accurate with the use of the rear tyre, as I was aware that preserving it for the latter stages of the race would be advantageous," Bagnaia clarified.

The Ducati team's leading rider initially surged ahead of Martin, but by the midpoint, had fallen to third place, trailing behind Martin and his teammate, Franco Morbidelli.

"When both Pramac riders went past me, I noticed they were going a little too aggressively. Therefore, I chose to ease off slightly."

"However, it's possible that I spent too much time trailing behind Franky, which allowed Jorge to extend his lead to over a second."

I attempted once more to regain my position against Jorge.

"I was right on his tail, but then, unfortunately, he had an accident. I believe it might have turned into one of our most epic showdowns in the final lap."

Bagnaia acknowledged that he too was pushing the boundaries in several of the intense braking areas.

He shared his experience, mentioning, "Being in that identical scenario, it was challenging to slow down at certain sections of the circuit. The first and the twelfth turns posed significant difficulties. There was considerable instability at the front, leading to frequent lock-ups," he described.

"I'm absolutely thrilled about clinching my fourth consecutive Sunday victory. It's definitely the perfect way to head into the summer break with a huge grin."

Despite overcoming a 15-point disadvantage to Martin and turning it into a lead of ten points in the championship, Bagnaia minimized the significance of Sachsenring, refusing to call it the pivotal moment of the season.

"I don't believe that's the case. I've been in high spirits for about six or seven grand prix now. My team and I are in great harmony," he mentioned. "We've been delivering flawlessly each weekend. Out of the last six grand prix, we've clinched victories in five."

"However, I believe that for Jorge, things will remain the same. He'll essentially be beginning anew at Silverstone, given the ten-point difference, and considering how much of the season is still ahead of us, the championship race is far from over."

"Now is not the moment to consider the pivotal moment in a championship. There's still a long way to go.”

When queried about how he would rate the first nine races of the season, Bagnaia responded, "Nine."

Due to my errors, I experienced a crash in Portimao alongside Marc. Additionally, I had an accident in Barcelona while I was in the lead.

"I believe the most unfortunate incident occurred in Barcelona, where I had an accident while being ahead by nine-tenths of a second on the final lap. That's the reason it doesn't get a perfect score."

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