With 21 points splitting factory Ducati rider Bagnaia and Pramac’s Martin coming into this weekend’s finale, Friday’s second practice proved crucial in the title battle.
Martin was second, while Bagnaia struggled to 15th as he battled braking issues, while a late yellow flag scuppered his final flying lap.
Prior to this, Martin shadowed Bagnaia at all times from the moment they left pitlane for their final runs and even off track when the latter headed for the run-off area at Turn 8.
Bagnaia said he “expected” Martin to do this, but noted it’s the Pramac rider’s only hope of beating him to the title.
Though Marquez – who was seventh at the end of Friday – didn’t see the incidents, he said that if Martin had been playing games with Bagnaia: “I like it.”
The Honda rider, taking part in his final race weekend with the team, said: “I mean the most interesting day with them and I was alone, I was not following them. I would like to be behind them to see.
“Today I just kept going alone because I felt strong alone and I didn’t need a reference.
“But yeah, if Jorge did that, I like it. Of course, he’s behind Pecco in the championship and he needs to do all what is in his hands inside the rules and inside the limit to try to win the championship.
“So yeah, if he made Pecco nervous in this way, congrats to Jorge. But then Pecco, of course tomorrow, if he wants to be champion, he needs to improve.”
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing
Martin said his decision to ride behind Bagnaia was a “gamble”, even though he’d already set a lap time good enough to get into Q2 at that stage, having gone early with his first soft tyre time attack.
Ducati boss Davide Tardozzi – who was almost hit by Martin when he left his pitbox for his final run – initially told Italian television that the Pramac rider’s tactics were “ridiculous”, though later rolled back on this.
Martin, who came close to overtaking Bagnaia at one stage while he was pushing for a time, said it was never his intention to disturb his rival and claimed he doesn’t like deploying these tactics.
“I think we need to be close, let him know we are there for the fight,” Martin said. “But I think it’s not fair to destroy his lap. I was just behind, trying to look for the lines and I think it’s not nice to see.
“It’s not what I want to do, it’s not what I want to do, but it’s what I need. But I’m not going to the next level that is disturbing him. I saw they [Ducati] were a bit upset about the situation, but I mean, it’s clear that it’s the only thing that we can do.
“It’s not that I pushed him off the track or something. It’s just that I followed him. A lot of riders during the season followed me and followed Pecco and they said nothing.
“I think they should relax a little bit and understand the situation. He’s my closest rival and I need to understand his weak and strong points.”
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