“Clean” or “dirty” expert judgment in the case of Marc Marquez v. Pecco Bagnaia in Thailand

The 2024 MotoGP Thai Grand Prix was won by Francesco Bagnaia by 2.9 seconds over Jorge Martin, but it was the fight between Bagnaia and Marc Marquez for the lead that was the most intense part of the race.

In the battle between the two, Marquez tried to attack Bagnaia in the final corner of the Buriram circuit when he was tight, right-handed in first gear.

However, Bagnaia was able to equalize it on the exit in both cases.

“Marc sent him from the center into the last corner twice,” Michael Laverty told TNT Sports after the race.

“He was brilliant and confident he could stop it without hiding his front and endangering Pecco.

“The cut from Pecco was clean. He gave Marc some space.

“Second time? She doesn’t take it so lightly and squeezes him lightly.

“You can see that Pecco wants to cut back; Marc tried to park it and hit it against the curb.

“It’s not dirty. This lets him know that “I’m here and I’m going to fight.”

“Marc wanted to get to the front. If he did that, maybe he would establish a good rhythm. It wasn’t supposed to be.”

Ultimately, Marquez suffered an accident as he approached Bagnaia in turn nine. He remounted and finished 11th, but an accident ended his hopes of a fourth victory of the season on the spot.

For Laverty, Marquez’s accident was not a result of pushing too hard, but of trying to squeeze too much performance out of the front tire.

“It didn’t look like he was over the limit,” Laverty said. “He just demanded a little too much from the front tire. Boy, did he try to save it!

“As if on a tripod, the knee was stuck into the ground. If it weren’t for the curbs, he might have been able to get it back. You saw his knee slide along the ground.

“Unfortunately, this was his chance to win over.

“I didn’t see much wrong. Perhaps he touched the gas pedal to maintain momentum. He was almost holding it upright.

“The right decision to settle for second place”

Marquez’s crash gave Bagnaia a lead of over two seconds over Jorge Martin, who never really threatened the Italian, who eventually claimed his ninth Grand Prix victory of the season and reduced his points deficit to Martin in the championship to 17 with two rounds remaining.

“He had a few moments that upset him,” Laverty said of Bagnai’s race.

“But he stayed calm and established a rhythm that (Jorge) Martin couldn’t match. Pecco (Bagnaia) was exceptional.”

Martin led at the start, but made mistakes that ultimately brought Bagnaia, and especially Marquez, back into contention for the win.

“Jorge ran early, as he was pushing on the first lap,” Laverty said.

“The lead on his pitboard would be shrinking, so he knew Pecco was coming.

“He tried to improve his game a little bit. He hit the brakes too hard.