Bagnaia Warns Jorge Martin

JAKARTA Francesco Bagnaia reminded Jorge Martin of the high mental pressure when his rival struggled to get his first title from the MotoGP event this year.

Martin is still leading the top of the drivers' standings with a collection of 392 points. He has a 10-point lead over Bagnaia who is in second place.

Bagnaia said that currently the competition for a title is really not easy. He has also felt pressure in the last three years, two of which he successfully won.

"You feel that pressure (is) natural, but you also have to fight that pressure," Bagnaia was quoted as saying by Crash.

This season's race is Bagnaia and Martin are competing against world champions from the world's most prestigious motorcycle racing event.

However, this season is inversely proportional to last year when Martin came out as runner-up.

In the 2024 MotoGP, the Spaniard appeared much more consistent and controlled most of the season.

Martin is currently in a situation like Bagnaia's while trying to win his first title in 2022 after the previous year being runner-up.

In those two years, Bagnaia has recorded a tight competition with French rider Fabio Quartararo to seal the title. The competition then changed against Martin in the last two years.

Bagnaia admits that she was much more prepared last year when she won the second title than the previous year which made it difficult for her to sleep and even felt nervous.

"This is the biggest difference I felt when I won the MotoGP race for the first time, I fought for the championship in 2021," he said.

Bagnaia and Martin will resume their competition over the weekend at the 2024 Australian MotoGP. The competition between the two is likely to continue in three series afterwards.

After Australia they will consecutively race in Thailand (25-27 October), Malaysia (1-3 November), and the final series in Valencia, Spain, on 15-17 November 2024.