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Dorna demands proper behavior from its riders but, thanks to its ever-present cameras, it occasionally enjoys stirring up old controversies. One of these is, above all, that involving Bagnaia and Marquez and when they touched during the 2024 Portuguese GP. The race judges decided that there was no one to blame, but it did cause both to lose important points.
How many? According to Pecco, enough for him to lose the world championship, since the title last year went to Jorge Martin by just 10 points and, at the time of the incident, with three laps to go, Bagnaia was in fifth position.
The official MotoGP website published some "behind the scenes" footage that happened in 2024. The five-part documentary, There Can Only Be One, is accessible if you have the site's video pass. The footage shows the confrontation between Francesco Bagnaia and Marc Marquez as they await the decision from the commissioners after what happened on the track in Portimao. Here's their repartee.
Marquez: "At that point, you know that, if you open the throttle, there's contact, and the rider on the outside falls."
Bagnaia: "It depends on how the rider on the outside reacts. What you say about me is maybe what you would've done or thought in my position."
Marquez: "Now we'll look at the data."
Bagnaia: "Marc, when you go wide, you know perfectly well that there's another rider on the inside. You know that."
Marquez: "So it's my fault."
Bagnaia: "No, I'm not saying that."
Marquez: "I didn't close the trajectory."
Bagnaia: "It's neither your fault nor my fault."
Marquez: "That's the problem. It's neither my fault nor your fault, but we both fell. Don't worry, I won't make a big deal about it in interviews."
In fact, neither Pecco nor Marc spoke abaout it anymore but, from what we gathered from this banter, the error still smoulders under the ashes. And it makes you wonder what could happen when a similar situation arises again, which is more than likely... much to Dorna's delight, since they're banking on this rivalry for entertainment.
