Francesco Bagnaia is battling to retain his MotoGP championship and take his third title in succession for Ducati.
The Italian rider has been very impressive this season, particularly in the middle of the campaign, when he won six out of eight races in MotoGP.
He is battling for the title against Spanish rider Jorge Martin, who is top of the standings with just one race weekend left after the Grand Prix of Malaysia.
Bagnaia is now 29 points down on his rival and has a lot of work to do to win the championship. Martin can clinch the title in Sunday’s race if he outscores the Italian by nine points.
The reigning champion started on pole position but lost the lead to his title rival at Turn 1, falling to second place.
Neil Hodgson explained while commentating on the race for TNT Sports 2 (2/11, 7:13) that Bagnaia should be leading the championship.
Francesco Bagnaia ‘should be winning’ the championship but ‘mistakes’ have cost him
Bagnaia was running in second position while challenging Martin for the lead and defending from Spanish rider Marc Marquez.
It was very important for the Italian to pass Martin and take points away from his championship rival, but he made a critical mistake at Turn 9.
Bagnaia fell off the bike after making an error, which forced him to retire from the race, costing him valuable championship points.
Despite the Ducati rider’s impressive pace over the season, he has made errors, particularly in Sprints, where he has crashed on five occasions. Bagnaia had to take more risk than Martin, as he is behind in the standings.
Hodgson explained that Bagnaia has the potential to win the championship but mistakes are costing him in the battle with Martin.
He said: “Yes, he’s one more Grand Prix races as Pecco Bagnaia. Actually, look at the basic stats. You’d think, Bagnaia should be winning the championship, but it is the mistakes that have cost him.
“We’ve just had a prime example, but it is the fine margins. We’ve seen the crash now from five different views, and it doesn’t look… Maybe his front tyre just brushed the white line, but that’s what it takes.”
If Jorge Martin wins the Grand Prix of Malaysia, Francesco Bagnaia needs to finish second
Bagnaia is now under pressure in the championship battle and will lose his crown if Martin wins the race and he isn’t in second place.
The Italian rider was faultless before the Sprint, learning the track in practice before storming to pole position for the Sprint.
Fine margins are so important in MotoGP that the championship battle could return to Bagnaia’s favour if he outscores his rival in the Grand Prix of Malaysia.
There will be one more round, although the venue has yet to be confirmed. The Grand Prix of Valencia was cancelled due to the 2024 Spanish floods.