passed Miller for third at turn
eight on the following lap and
began edging toward the lead
pair, a three-way Ducati shoot
-
out appeared possible.
Yet the heavyweight fight
never materialized. By lap 18,
Marquez had edged his lead
up to half a second, around the
same time Bastianini began
losing chunks of time to his
teammate. And the eight-time
World Champion's fastest
lap pushed his lead to over
one second for the first time.
Assessing the risks, Bagnaia
decided on a crucial second
place. "I saw Jorge entering
the box and the pit, and I said,
'I don't have to take any risks,'"
he explained. "In the last four
this time we missed a bit of
understanding between us.
This was 100 percent my fault,
but it is always useful to have
feedback and more informa
-
tion before the race. I took the
chance."
A return to change to slicks
on lap nine meant he faced the
ignominy of exiting behind the
lead group a lap down.
In the resulting chaos, Mar
-
quez grabbed the lead from
Bagnaia at the final turn on
lap eight, with Miller now third.
And from there, the reigning
champ began harrying the
great enemy in front. On lap
11, it appeared only a matter of
time before there was another
lead change. And as Bastianini
VOLUME 61 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 P101
was a bit too strong with my words.
I didn't want to say that he made us
crash on purpose, but his defense
was a bit aggressive." While accept-
ing the apology, Marquez said the
damage was already done. "The fact
that he apologized, I like it… thanks
to him for his words. But also, it's
true that the damage to me person-
ally, to my team, and my image as a
rider has already been done."
MOTOGP TO TEST SHIP-
TO-SHORE RADIO
MotoGP is trialing ship-to-shore ra-
dio with the idea of introducing it for
the 2025 season. The idea is for rid-
ers to receive audio communication
from Race Direction, as well as from
their respective teams, midsession
or during a race, something that has
been banned until now. The idea is
to increase the show and to add an-
other facet to Dorna's multi-layered
TV coverage, much in the same
way as in Formula One. Rather than
fitting an earpiece, it's believed the
device to produce the audio would
sit over a rider's forehead. And there
would only be certain sections on
track where a message could be
received to avoid startling a rider.
Unsurprisingly, most of the grid
is opposed to it. Imagining that it
existed during the San Marino GP
when rain temporarily interrupted
play, Marc Marquez felt it would
be the rider who would still make
the crucial decisions. "The rider
decides," he said. "Even we don't
know, and the team, it's impossible
that they know how the racetrack
is." Asked if he would be in favor of
such a move, Marquez said, "For
the show, yes. For the sense of the
sport, no. But we are here for the
show sometimes, and it will be more
interesting for the people at home."
Briefly...
