Reviving the ‘Alien’ Era: Bagnaia Sees Parallels in Today’s MotoGP Dynamics

Is MotoGP on the verge of returning to the 'alien' era? Bagnaia believes that the current state of MotoGP resembles the era dominated by legends such as Rossi, Stoner, Lorenzo, Pedrosa, and Marquez.

Francesco Bagnaia thinks MotoGP is heading back towards the period when legends like Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, and Dani Pedrosa were in control of the sport.

The battle for the 2024 championship is extremely close between Jorge Martin and Bagnaia, with only a 10-point difference separating them following the Japanese Grand Prix held last weekend.

In what is possibly the most competitive period in MotoGP history, this season has seen a significant gap develop between the leading four riders—Martin, Bagnaia, Marc Marquez, and Enea Bastianini—and the rest of the competitors.

This was clear in Japan, where the gap between the top four competitors was just 4.3 seconds, whereas Franco Morbidelli, who finished in fifth place, was trailing by more than 13 seconds.

Bagnaia thinks the current situation is reminiscent of the 'alien' period from the late 2000s to early 2010s, a time when riders such as Rossi, Lorenzo, Pedrosa, Casey Stoner, and later Marc Marquez, dominated the leading positions.

Following his victory at the Japanese Grand Prix, Bagnaia was seen in the cooldown room prior to the podium ceremony, discussing the championship rivalry with Martin.

"This is how things will be from now on," he stated. "Jorge should allow me to eliminate the gap completely so that we can go to Valencia with the scores tied."

"That's okay with me," Martin responded.

During the press conference, when questioned for further details, Bagnaia stated, "I'll make an effort to regain my position and pass him."

"It might be ideal to head to Valencia with an equal score, making the winner of that event the champion."

"This is an occurrence that hasn't taken place in several years."

"We might have a different scenario, yet we find ourselves in circumstances where errors and accidents are highly likely."

"We're constantly pushing boundaries and typically juggle around 5 to 10 points every weekend."

"It's pretty challenging and difficult. In the past, it was similar; if you look back at racing between 2010 and 2013, you would often see Marc, Vale, Lorenzo, and Pedrosa consistently leading, and before them, Casey was also at the top."

"The championship seems to be heading that way now, as the strongest competitors consistently lead. From the first few races at the beginning of the season, it became evident that Jorge and I were consistently among the frontrunners."

"First, Marc narrowed the distance, and then Enea did the same. Consequently, we consistently find ourselves among the top four spots. If you examine the gap today as well, you'll see that we stood out once more."

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