Two live images from Sepang made it all so worthwhile. Jack Miller walking down pit lane and the opening laps of that extraordinary head-to-head duel between title contenders Bagnaia and Martin. The boiled egg and toast would have to wait. Normally at the fly-away Grands Prix I will record the races and watch them later after a Sunday morning leisurely breakfast. Following the Tissot Sprint race on Saturday I knew I had to get up at 6.30 am to watch it live with a real chance of the Championship being settled. I was not disappointed.
The crash involving Jack Miller at turn two on the opening lap of the original race brought haunting memories back of a stricken Sepang 13 years ago. I felt the tension in the commentary box. Struggling to describe the build-up to the restart while worrying about the condition of Miller. They did a brilliant job and the sight of Jack walking down pit lane produced a sigh of relief that was released around the world, let alone the commentary box and paddock.
It was time to concentrate on the racing. Bagnaia and Martin produced an opening four laps that defied logic and even rhyme and reason. I have never witnessed such a ferocious battle between two riders with so much at stake. They simply laid everything on the line. They seemed totally oblivious to the consequences of a mistake or crash. It was World Championship motorsport at the very highest level. At the finish in Parc Ferme, no histrionics, arguments or accusations. A shake of the hands, and a shared joke. They will be prepared to do it all over again at the Barcelona decider in two weeks’ time.
So, where exactly do they stand with one Grand Prix to go? Martin’s lead of 24 points means one thing. If he wins the Tissot Sprint on Saturday, the Prima Pramac Ducati rider will be crowned the 2024 MotoGP™ World Champion. The Spaniard has already won seven Sprint races this season and surely wants it done and dusted before the Grand Prix on Sunday afternoon. Bagnaia will be desperate for the final outcome to go to the wire over a full Grand Prix distance. Already this season he has won ten Grands Prix to join a very exclusive club. In the 75-year history of the sport only Marc Marquez, Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, Giacomo Agostini and Mick Doohan have won ten premier class Grands Prix in a single season. But it may not be enough.
History stacks up against the Italian. For only the second time at the final round an extra 12 points are available at the Sprint, but only three times in those 75 years has a points deficit been reversed at the final round. In 1992 Wayne Rainey reversed Mick Doohan’s slender two-point advantage at Kyalami. His third place was enough to give him his third successive title by just four points after a brave injury-ravaged Doohan finished sixth.
Valentino Rossi arrived at the final round at Valencia in 2006 with an eight-point advantage over Nicky Hayden. Rossi crashed on lap five and remounted to finish in 13th place in the race won by Troy Bayliss. Hayden’s third place was enough to bring him the title. The last time there was a reversal was in 2015 in the most controversial finale ever. Rossi had a seven-point advantage over Yamaha team-mate Jorge Lorenzo but had to start from the back of the grid after his spectacular falling out with Marquez at the penultimate round in Sepang. Fourth place was not enough for Rossi in Valencia and Lorenzo grabbed his third MotoGP™ title by five points after victory.
It's a massive ask for Bagnaia to pull back those 24 points to win his third successive MotoGP™ title. Throwing in those extra Sprint 12 points will help and he has nothing to lose. Martin’s pit board in Sepang displayed a simple one-word message, “Focus”. I’m sure he will do exactly that in what promises to be another ferocious head-to-head battle for the ultimate prize.