The 2024 MotoGP Thai Grand Prix was won by 2.9 seconds by France⛎sco Bagnaia over Jorge Martin, but it was a battle 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 Burira🎃m lay🦂out, a tight, first-gear right-hander. 

Bagnaia was able to square him off on th♒e exit both times, though.

“Marc sent it from downtown twice into th🍸e last corner,” Michael Laverty said post-race on T💝NT Sports.

“He was brilliant, and confident he could stop it without tucking the front or ris🀅king❀ Pecco.

“🍌The cut-back 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.

“You can see🦂 Pecco wants the cut-back; 🐓Marc tried to park it, he ran him towards the edge of the kerb.

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

“Mar🅷c wanted to get to the front. If he did, he might have set a nice rhythm. It wasn’t to beඣ.”

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

For Laverty, Marquez’s crash was not one of pushing♑ to hard, but about trying to squeeze too much performance out of the front 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 try 🦋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, tha𒈔t was his chanc🐻e at a victory over.

“I couldn’t see a 💖lot wrong. He may have touched the thr𒀰ottle 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 seconds 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 moment🤪s which will have made him nervous,” Laverty said ofཧ Bagnaia’s race.

“But he stayed composed and settled into a rhythm which [Jorge] Martin could not match. Pe𝄹cco [Bagnaia] was exceptional.”

Martin had led early, but made mistakes which ultimately brought Bagnaia, and to begin with Marquez, back ꦐinto victory contention.

“Jorge made the early running, like 🌱he pushed on the opening lap,” Laverty said.

“The gap on hi♛s pitboard would have been c🧔oming down, so he knew Pecco was coming.

“He tried to up his game a bit. H♈e went too deep on the brakes.”

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

“He 𓆉had a good look at Marc and Pecco but conceded that they had rhythm.

“I was worried for Jorge because he went wide so many times, 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, championsh🌸ip-wise. Give away the points, but bring it home.

“There was a lot of ri𝓰sk but he dealt with it well.”