The MotoGP season finale is going to be one of the weirder instances of a championship decider in quite a while.
A last-minute decision to change the venue from Valencia to Barcelona as a result of devastating floods means that the riders will take to the cold Spanish tarmac to close out the season.
Francesco Bagnaia trails Jorge Martin by 24 points in the title fight, meaning that the Italian is less than likely to claim a third crown.
Pecco has remained consistent throughout the season, and now just needs to ensure that he finishes inside the top 14 to bring home a maiden MotoGP championship.
Francesco Bagnaia expects ‘tougher’ Barcelona race
In normal circumstances, Bagnaia needs Martin to retire from the race to have any realistic chance of winning it all.
Fortunately, they’re heading to a mistake-prone track and the pressure will be on the Spaniard who is aiming to win his first title.
Speaking after the Malaysian Grand Prix, the Italian rider emphasised how tricky the Barcelona-Catalunya circuit can be.
READ MORE: What Francesco Bagnaia ‘has to’ do to win the MotoGP title amid Jorge Martin battle
“I do normally perform better at Barcelona, but it’s a more tricky circuit where [you can be very close to] making mistakes, so you have to be more precise,” he told Motorsport.com.
“I crashed there in the sprint race when I had a one-second lead, even though I was trying to avoid any mistakes.
“It will be tricky; the conditions will be tougher compared to [May] because it will be cold. And two corners there are quite tricky, Turn 2 and Turn 5. It will be important to try to be competitive but still calm.”
Why does Bagnaia trail in the championship?
It’s a confusing outlook to see that Bagnaia trails Martin by so much in the championship, despite having taken seven more victories in 2024.
Pecco is the king of the second-place finish this year though, where his Italian rival has finished third on quite a few occasions.
They’ve both finished lower than tenth on three occasions, so the average consistency of Martin has been slightly better.
READ MORE: Everything to know on MotoGP Ducati rider Francesco Bagnaia
It all boils down to one last race though, and miracles are needed for things to alter from how they currently look.
Anything can and usually does happen in motorsport though, so expect Martin to play his cards tactically and race with the overall trophy in mind.