in a multi-rider fight for fifth. But
as the rain started to fall on the
seventh lap, both Bagnaia and
Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati)
began to slow, while third-placed
Franco Morbidelli (Pramac
Ducati) crashed out. Marquez
could slash the gap to the lead
-
ers. And with Martin inexplicably
pitting for a change to wet tires,
his main rival for victory had
ruled himself out of contention.
He later felt fate came into play.
"Someone in the sky said,
'Drop some rain, lead the race
and win it for the Gresini family,"
Marquez said, referring to his
team's home race.
As dominant as Marquez was
on enemy soil come the end,
this contest will undoubtedly
be remembered for Martin's
(Pramac Ducati) latest blunder.
The Spaniard had been close to
perfection up until then, leav
-
ing Bagnaia almost spitting
with rage as he triumphed in
the Sprint. And an early push
had him vying with the reigning
World Champion for victory in
the early moments, despite a
tricky grid position of fourth.
Yet here, he was the lone rider
to pit from a lead group of eight.
With main contender Bagnaia
just ahead on track and a per
-
fect figure to gauge such condi-
tions, it was a massive risk.
Seeing the rain shower stop, the
extent of his blunder became
clear as soon as he exited on
wets. Crunch moments like
these decide championships,
and Martin was sadly found to
be lacking once more.
While spits of rain peppered
the grid in the minutes leading
VOLUME 61 ISSUE 36 SEPTEMBER 10, 2024 P99
FERNANDEZ TALKS
NEW CREW CHIEF
Augusto Fernandez spoke of the
crew chief switch, made before the
Aragon GP, which made an im-
mediate positive impression on his
performance. The Spaniard ended
his partnership with Alex Merhand—
with Alberto Giribuola, formerly
working alongside Andrea Dovizioso
and Enea Bastianini at Ducati before
being hired by KTM as Performance
Engineer—stepping in. "I had been
asking for one year," said Fernandez.
"But the last push came. It's [too]
late for my contract [situation] and
everything, but it's good for me to
get the confidence back. I am just
thinking of the positives. I have a new
crew chief and a big opportunity to
prove to everyone and also to myself
that I can be 'there' and then jump on
whatever bike it will be." It's believed
KTM acted to put Giribuola into Fer-
nandez's side of the box in prepara-
tion for next year, when he'll team up
with Bastianini for a second time.
BAGNAIA, A. MARQUEZ
MAKE AMENDS?
Thursday was the first chance for
both Pecco Bagnaia and Alex Mar-
quez to face the media since the
immediate aftermath of their contro-
versial collision in the Aragon GP,
which caused both riders to crash.
Speaking in the pre-event press
conference, Bagnaia apologized
to his fellow rider for insinuating he
had ridden into him on purpose,
which caused a wave of social
media abuse. "I want to say sorry
to Alex for the strong words I said
during the interviews after the race,"
said the current number one. "I was
very angry about what happened,
and looking at the telemetry was
even worse from my point of view. I
Briefly...
