It’s been a thrilling title fight in 2023 and it’s set to reach its conclusion at the season finale in Valencia this weekend. Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) currently holds a 21 point advantage after striking a hammer blow to Jorge Martin’s (Prima Pramac Racing) hopes on Sunday in Qatar, but with 37 still to play for, it is far from over.
Pecco will have his first match point in Saturday’s Tissot Sprint, where a variety of scenarios would see him crowned back-to-back MotoGP™ World Champion. Martin has been the king of the Sprints this year, and he’ll need to maintain that form if he is to keep the title fight rolling into Sunday.
For Bagnaia, it’s simple. If he outscores his title rival by four points or more on Saturday, he will have successfully defended the Championship. Below you can see the full list of permutations that would hand the Italian Championship honours on Saturday:
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He wins and Martin doesn’t finish better than P3
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He finishes P2 and Martin doesn’t finish better than P5
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He finishes P3 and Martin doesn’t finish better than P7
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He finishes P4 and Martin doesn’t finish better than P8
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He finished P5 and Martin doesn’t finish better than P9
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He finished P6 and Martin fails to score any point