'That contact is the acceptable level when they next battle, and we’ve got to believe there will be a next battle!'
The thrilling victory duel between Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez in Sunday’s Spanish MotoGP was unsurprising the main topic of conversation on the latestBagnaia inherited the lead when title leader Jorge Martin crashed out, just ahead of him, on lap 11 of 25.
Bagnaia then set a new lap record and, despite Marquez doing his own fastest lap on the final lap, took arguably his best MotoGP win so far by 0.372s over the Gresini rider.MotoGP editor Pete McLaren. “He’d had the crash in the Sprint, not his fault, but it increased the pressure not to lose any more points.
“Marquez had already demonstrated his pace on used tyres on the Friday, so it wasn’t a surprise that he was strong, but I don’t think we expected he’d be able to close the gap on Pecco. It was really impressive, because Bagnaia didn’t make any mistakes. “Pecco was very smart. He knew Marquez was quick through that section and he explained after the race ‘I’ll brake as hard as I can, and if Marc then runs wide as he passes me, I’ll go straight back underneath him’.
“It’s also interesting because Pecco's move has set the rules of engagement: That it’s okay to try a move knowing there is probably going to be contact with another Ducati rider, as long as you both stay upright. “But he didn’t. He almost seemed to hold back, certainly compared to his hard passes on the likes of Mir and Oliveira in the Sprint! There was no do-or-die into the hairpin, even when Pecco was still within range.
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