The 2024 MotoGP championship is far from over, with a championship decider at the Circuit de Barcelona Catalunya just around the corner.
The venue for the season finale had to be shifted from Valencia as a result of devastating flooding in the Spanish region.
It now means that they head further north at a cold time of year, to a track which is very mistake-provoking.
A 24-point gap at the top of the standings between Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia means that the title isn’t quite over yet – and in motorsport, anything can happen.
Casey Stoner says Jorge Martin should expect ‘a lot of chaos’
One man who knows a lot about winning multiple championships at the highest level is Casey Stoner – who claimed the 2007 and 2011 MotoGP crowns.
Last year, Martin was denied the opportunity to claim a maiden title after being taken out of the final race of the season.
Stoner has now come out to warn him of the same thing happening again, in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport.
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“I think Jorge deserves the title and is in a position to win it. Pecco will do everything he can to win it and Ducati would like to keep the number one. [I hope] everything [will] go smoothly, as there could be a lot of chaos.
“I’m of the same opinion. I know the company and I know what they are willing to do to win. I’m surprised I didn’t see it before, or maybe it happened and Jorge got good at it.”
Why there’s no reason to fear a collision between the title rivals
The Malaysian Grand Prix was a terrific showing of respect and trust between the two championship protagonists.
Both battled hard as the lead changed on multiple occasions before Bagnaia came out on top in a must-win scenario.
It proved that the two could go to war with each other out on track without a calamitous coming together at the end of the championship.
But they are heading to a circuit which Bagnaia has spectacularly crashed out at before, which adds pressure in another must-win situation.
Expect to see Pecco go aggressive towards Martin as he knows that resting on his laurels won’t help him win a third title.