First MotoGP race in Japan since COVID promises to heat the championship race.
Tochigi, MOTEGI....... After world champion Fabio Quartararo's crash in Aragon, which opened up the championship race with five races, the exciting MotoGP season proceeds to Japan this weekend.
Frenchman's advantage is still at 10 points, but it has been cut in half by Francesco Bagnaia of Italy and Aleix Espargaro of Spain.
Before last weekend's race in Aragon, Spain, when Yamaha's Quartararo made a stunning and painful first-lap withdrawal after clipping the Honda of six-time world champion Marc Marquez, Ducati rider Bagnaia had ratcheted up the pressure by winning four consecutive races.
While Enea Bastianini's last-lap pass prevented Bagnaia from winning for the sixth time in a row, the Italian's second-place finish was enough to put pressure on the shaky Quartararo and give him the upper hand in the future.
The 25-year-old Bagnaia, seeking his first MotoGP world championship, said, "I gave my all, and I would want to have another fight in Japan."
The Italian added that he would have been satisfied with second place and the 20 points it would have earned him rather than risking it all to try and win the race and gain 25 points.
Motegi will host the first MotoGP race in Japan since the epidemic, and only 17 points separate the top three riders.
Despite being 48 points behind Quartararo, Bastianini is still in the championship hunt.
However, Bagnaia is uncomfortable with discussions of titles.
Our relationship has deepened, and we can talk more openly about the championship now that we're closer, but he didn't want to. "For the remainder of the tournament, I'd like to spend more weekends in Japan.
I know how much potential we have, but it's been three years since we last visited there, so I expect the beginning to be complicated.
While Aprilia Racing's Pol Espargaro is excited to contend for the MotoGP world title, teammate Francesco Bagnaia is more reserved.
After finishing third in Aragon, 33-year-old stated, "The championship is getting really hot." He was trailing Ducati's Bastianini and Bagnaia.
Bagnaia is "today riding better than us," in his opinion, and hence the guy to defeat.
Neither Fabio nor I will have it easy, as he has the most fantastic bike and is racing at an extremely high level, according to Espargaro. "However, anything can happen in MotoGP.
Now we're headed to weird circuits distant from Europe, where the weather and surface conditions will inevitably affect tire grip.
The next stop on tour is in Japan on Sunday; then it's off to Thailand, Australia, and Malaysia before the season finale in Valencia, Spain.
Despite being "sore" from his collision and friction burns from sliding across the Aragon track, Quartararo must resume his world title defense at Motegi.
Photos of the 23-year-old show him with multiple huge bandages covering his chest, yet he appears to be in good spirits despite the ordeal.
He told the press, "Japan is a track I enjoy." "Despite the high rate of acceleration, I think Japan could be a fantastic track for us due to the high rate of braking. That's where we really shine."
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