Enea Bastianini helped Francesco Bagnaia keep his title bid alive in the Sprint Race at the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona but also did something ‘scary’ to Jorge Martin.
The 2024 MotoGP riders’ championship fight between Ducati pilot Bagnaia and Pramac rival Martin will now run the distance at the 20th and final round of the year. But it is also in part due to Bastianini that Bagnaia will get one last shot at retaining his crown and the No1 plate.
Martin had match point going into the Sprint Race at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya this Saturday. All the 26-year-old needed to win his first MotoGP title was to finish second or see Bagnaia fail to better Martin’s result. But Bastianini stole second place to keep the race alive.
Enea Bastianini’s Barcelona Sprint Race overtake on Jorge Martin was ‘scary’
Bastianini overtook Martin for P2 in the Sprint Race at the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona with a crucial move for his Ducati teammate Bagnaia on the final lap. Martin had forced the position away from the KTM Tech 3-bound star early on but the Pramac ace did not hold on.
This weekend is Bastianini’s final time on a Ducati, ahead of Marc Marquez taking his bike in 2025. The Beast will move to Tech 3 with a factory KTM contract next year, when Martin will also leave Pramac for Aprilia after the Bologna Bullets snubbed him to sign Marquez instead.
Martin, who departing Aprilia rider Aleix Espargaro has helped in Barcelona, will look to take the No1 plate with him and away from Ducati. But he needs a clean day come Sunday, which Neil Hodgson feared was almost not the case in the Sprint Race as Bastianini passed Martin.
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The 2003 Superbike World Champion felt Bastianini’s overtake on Martin in the Sprint Race at the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona was very borderline. Rimini native Bastianini dived down the inside of Madrid-born Martin at the fearsome downhill Turn 5 and risked contact.
“I honestly thought that was a scary manoeuvre,” Hodgson told TNT Sports 2 (16/11, 14:30). “He probably would have been [shaking his head]. Downhill, off-camber. We saw 15 crashes on that corner last year, it’s so tricky.”
Jorge Martin was quick to avoid a collision with Enea Bastianini in Barcelona
Hodgson’s fears were close to coming true when Bastianini dived down Martin’s inside for P2 in the Sprint Race at the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona. Martin needed to be alert as he tipped the Pramac star’s Ducati Desmosedici GP24 into T5 and sensed the Italian late on.
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Had Martin not sat his bike up and conceded the position to Bastianini, the Italian’s MotoGP title dream may have looked very different ahead of Sunday’s Grand Prix. But instead of him leading Bagnaia by 12 points, Martin enjoys a 19-point advantage into the final race of 2024.
Even if Bagnaia secures the double and wins the Solidarity Grand Prix of Barcelona as well as the Sprint Race, the Turin native needs Martin to finish no higher than 11th place to remain the MotoGP champion and claim the Ducati rider’s third title in as many seasons on Sunday.