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After the controversial accident in Portimão, Francesco Bagnaia's and Marc Marquez's paths crossed again in the Spanish GP in Jerez, where they were involved in an intense fight for the victory in the final laps of the race. A duel that ended thanks to Bagnaia's sprint in the third-to-last lap, when he sealed the record lap in the race at 1'37"449, with a margin over his rival that allows him to resist until the end.
"Pecco was at ninety-five percent, but when Marc came and passed him, he put in that five percent he was lacking, and set the track record," Jorge Lorenzo stated when speaking with Josep Lluís Merlos, Ruben Xaus, Ricard Jové ,and Ramon Forcada in the fourth episode of the "Dura La Vita" podcast.
"It was clear that the GP24 was going fast in the straights. It's faster because the engine revs a bit higher. I had already said this in Qatar, and Marc denied it, saying it was a problem with the gearbox and rearing up, but I think the GP24 is superior in the straights in terms of acceleration, device, and power. What I saw was that Marc had to push a lot when braking in the last few laps to keep up with Bagnaia's furious pace. He had to compensate for what Pecco was gaining on the straight in acceleration," Lorenzo continued, convinced that the GP would've had a different outcome if the new Gresini team rider had the same bike as the defending champion. "Marquez, with a Ducati 2024, would've won one-hundred percent. I'm sure. We'll see when he has a bike equal to Pecco's and Martin's"
A no-holds-barred fight where the two Ducati riders came into contact with each other more than once, fortunately without consequences, except for a stain on Marc's suit.
"In my opinion, they entered the corner in parallel, with Marquez thinking as he was doing it, 'I'm going to scare Pecco, and enter safely', however, knowing that he could've done the same. As a matter of fact, Pecco entered with the same confidence and aggressiveness as Marquez. And, as soon as they lightly touched, Marc lifted the bike slightly so that neither would fall. They both expected that contact where, instead, I don't think Marc expected Pecco to enter there, like in Portimão," Lorenzo commented. "If they had been on opposite sides, with Pecco on the outside and Marc on the inside, do you think he would've entered with the same confidence? I think Marquez would've definitely done it, and Pecco would've lifted the bike much more than Marc did. Marquez can be beaten in terms of speed, but not in terms of courage."
When he was instead asked about the numerous falls during the Spanish Sprint Race, the five-time world champion categorized both Marquez's and Bagnaia's as two episodes that were the results of circumstances.
"I think Marc's fall on Saturday depended on the track conditions. Any rider on the grid could've fallen. While Bagnaia's wasn't his fault," Jorge said, convinced that, at the end of the season, the Catalan rider might regret the 32 points that now separate him from the leader, Jorge Martin: "The points Marc lost in Portimão, Austin, and the Sprint, in the three races where he fell, will prevent him from winning the world championship at the end of the year. When he signed with Ducati, I think he expected to win."
