Francesco Bagnaia believes the MotoGP world championship is Jorge Martin's to lose after the two-time champion's crash in the Malaysian Grand Prix sprint on Saturday left him 29 points behind his Spanish rival in the drivers' standings.
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Bagnaia, who set a lap record to take pole earlier on Saturday, crashed in the third lap of the sprint, with Pramac Racing's Martin taking the win to extend his lead in the standings by 12 points.
Martin is on 465 points while Bagnaia is second on 436, and the Spaniard can win the title with a weekend to spare if he is able to outscore Bagnaia by nine points or more in Sunday's race.
"I'm going to give everything, as always. From this moment on, Jorge is the only one who can lose it, because, in the end, with 29 points, the only thing he can do is make mistakes and lose it," Bagnaia told DAZN.
"I will have to start well but I will have to get in front and push hard and what will be, will be."
Jorge Martin can be crowned the 2024 #MotoGP champion in Sunday's #MalaysianGP.
— Motorsport.com (@Motorsport) November 2, 2024
Here's what he needs to do to wrap up the title with a round to spare ⬇️https://t.co/FEDpP6NaJe
The 27-year-old added that his crash was caused by a bump but made no excuses for his performance, saying he had not done well in sprint races throughout the season.
Bagnaia has crashed out of multiple sprint races this year, including at the British Grand Prix, Spanish Grand Prix and Catalunya Grand Prix.
"Sprint races annoy me. The mistakes I've made have all been in the sprint races and the same thing always happens to me. I ride comfortably and when I think I'm going to slow down on a corner, to take less risk, I always crash," Bagnaia said.
"Today, there was a bump but there are other times when it happens to me without understanding it."
THE BIGGEST MISTAKE POSSIBLE! ❌@PeccoBagnaia's title defence takes a huge blow after crashing out from P2 in the #TissotSprint 😱#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/s552pcs7Xz
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 2, 2024