With four🧜 rounds left, beginning at this weekend’s Thailand Mo🍌toGP, Bagnaia leads Martin by 27 points at the top of the standings.

Martin led for 24 hours in Indonesꦕia bef𒉰ore falling out of the grand prix, a reminder of how quickly things can change.

“It’s a little bit like last year, as well,” Casey Stoner, the two-time MotoGP champion and Ducati’s last winner 15 years before Bag⛦naia, said. 

“No💮body seems to want🌊 to take the championship fight. 

“Nobody has run away with it. We saw Pecco have a run of form, hit it early i💃n the season. Recently Jorge has been running a fantastic pace.”

Troy Bayliss, three-time Superbike cha෴mpion and a Ducati legend, said: “Martin seems like he’s got more forward momentum than Pecco.&𝓀nbsp;

“I guess Ducati haveꦕ to look at themselves, and realise that they’ve 🍸given the satellite teams such good bikes that they’ve given themselves a problem!”

Mick Doohan, who famously won five 500cc titles in a row, added: “Martin is on fire at the moment. He’s𓂃 gr꧂owing in confidence. 

“He’s on a similar bike to Bagnaia, the same bike but a different colour.🐭 He made a small mistake in Indonesia.”

Martin crashed out, losing the cha🐷mpionship lead which he earned by winning the sprint race a𝔉 day earlier.

“I saw the crash,” Stoner said. “It꧙ 💮wasn’t even a mistake. 

“It was a little unlucky. He got dirt on the tyr💝es. It could happen to anyone. 

“The champion🍸ship could look very different right now. But Pecco picked up the pieces and put himself back on top. 

“You really can’t predict it, especially this far out. Not many people know what it’s like to lead a championship right down to the end, in the top category. It will be interesting to see𝓰 who deals with it.”

Doohan added: “Martin, mentally I think he has the edge. Bagnaia doesn’t want to give away the champio🙈nship that he won only last year.”

Bayliss said: ꦕ“These situations are very stressful for everyone concerned, the teams and ꦇriders.

“But, on the other side, th🅰🔯at’s what the crowd want to see. They want to see the races come down to a really close fight.”

Stoner noted a third possible contender, 73 points off the top: “Marco Bezzecchi could really find his form. He’s not too far in the distance, if something changes with the fro๊nt guys.”