The 2024 MotoGP Thai Grand Prix was won by 2.9 seconds by Francesco Bagnaia ov꧅er Jorge Martin, but it was a bat🎉tle between Bagnaia and Marc Marquez for the lead that was the most intense portion of the race.

The battle between them 🌠saw Marquez try to attack Bagnaia in the final corner of the Buriram layout, a tight, first-gear right-hander. 

B🐭agnaia was able to square him off on the exit both times, thoughಌ.

“Marc se💯nt it from downtown twice int🎀o the last corner,” Michael Laverty said post-race on TNT Sports.

“He was brilliant, and confident he could stop it without tucking the front or risk𓂃ing Pecco.

“The cut💧-bꦕack from Pecco was clean. He gave Marc a bit of room.

“The second time? 🐈He doesn’t take it so lightly,💎 and he squeezes him out a bit.

“Youᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚ ca🧸n see Pecco wants the cut-back; Marc tried to park it, he ran him towards the edge of the kerb.

“It🐼’s not dirty. It’s letting him know that ‘I am here, I am going to fight back’.

“Marc wanted to get to the front. If he did, he might have set a𒆙 nice rhythm. It wasn’t t💞o be.”

Ultimately, Marquez crashed ꦍout just as he was closing back in on Bagnaia at turn nine. He remounted and finished 11th, but the crash ended his hopes of a fourth win of the season on the spot.

For Laverty, Marquez’s crash was not one of pushing to ha💖rd, but about trying to squeeze too much performance out of the fr💧ont tyre.

“It didn’t look like he was over the limit,” Laverty said. “He was just asking a bit too much from the front tyre༺. Boy, did he trꦜy to save it!

“Like a tripod, he had his knee dug into the ground. If it wasn’t👍 for the kerbs, he may have got it back. You saw his knee skidding on the ground.

“Unfortunately, that was his chance at 💝a victory over.

“I couldn’t see a lot wrong. He may have touche🅺d the throttle just to keep the momentum up. He almost kept it upright.”

'Right decision to settle for second'

Marquez’s crash released Bagnaia into a lead of over two second🗹s 💟over Jorge Martin, who never really threatened the Italian who eventually took his ninth Grand Prix win of the season and closed his points deficit to Martin in the championship to 17 with two rounds to go.

“He had a few moments which will have made him ner𒅌vous,” Laverty said of Bagnaia’s race.

“But he stayed composed and s🌜ettled into a rhythm which [Jorge] Martin could not ♈match. Pecco [Bagnaia] was exceptional.”

Martin had led early, but made mistakes which ultimately brought Bagnaia, and to begin with ♑Marquez, back into v♈ictory contention.

“Jorge made the early runnin🦩g, like he pushed on the opening lap,” Laverty said.

“The gap on his pitboard would h🐻ave been coming down, so he knew Pecco was coming.

“He tried to up his gꩵame a bit. He went too deep on the brakes.”

Explaining the incident that saw Martin give up the lead to Bagnaia at turn three, Laveꦇrty said: “Jorge can’t decelerate in that last bit, like Pecco can. He gave up two places.

“He had a good look at Marc and Pecco but conceded that they h❀ad🅘 rhythm.

“I was worried for Jorge because he went wide so many times𒐪, deep into Turn 1 and Turn 3. 🐷If he kept pushing he’d have ended up on the deck!

“It was the right decision to settle for second, championship-wise. Give away the points, but bri🌞ng it hom🧸e.

“There was a lot of🌊 risk but he dea🐈lt with it well.”