What Bagnaia and Martin need to be crowned MotoGP champion today

For the second time in as many seasons, Francesco Bagnaia leads the MotoGP standings heading into a Valencia title decider.

Peter McLaren

26 Nov 2023

Francesco Bagnaia, MotoGP, Qatar MotoGP, 17 November

Last year he was 23 clear of Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), this year he’s 14 ahead of Jorge Martin (Pramac).

Francesco Bagnaia will be MotoGP champion if:

• He finishes in the top five,
• He finishes P6, P7, P8, P9, P10 and Martin doesn’t win,
• He finishes P11, P12, P13, P14 and Martin doesn’t finish better than P3
• He finishes P15 or fails to score any points and Martin doesn’t finish on the podium.

Jorge Martin will be MotoGP champion if:

• He wins and Bagnaia doesn’t finish better than P6
• He finishes P2 and Bagnaia doesn’t finish better than P11
• He finishes P3 and Bagnaia doesn’t finish better than P15

The gap was 21 points heading into the weekend but Martin shaved seven points off by winning Satirday's sprint.

On Sunday, Bagnaia starts the race from second, Martin from sixth.

Keep an eye on Ducati bosses and their teammates, too. What role could they play?