These are different times and Pecco Bagnaia, in a gesture that honours him, not often enough among great champions, has apologised for his harsh words about Álex Márquez. In the heat of the battle, the Italian Ducati mainstay accused the youngest of the Márquez Alentà family of having thrown him on purpose while both were fighting for the podium during the Aragón GP, precisely the place where Marc Márquez returned to glory. The defending champion wanted to calm the toxic climate generated inside and outside the paddock.
“I want to apologise to Alex for my inappropriate words, I was very angry and I didn’t want to accuse him of having thrown me on purpose. His defence was aggressive, but that’s normal when you’re fighting for the podium. Sometimes, when you’re angry, you say things you don’t mean. He came to apologise, and we have different perspectives, but both respectable,” agreed the number one. The youngest of the Márquez brothers thanked him for his words, although he regretted the damage done over these few but intense four days of travel between Motorland and Misano. “I like that he has apologised, and I thank him for it. The damage to me, to my team, to my image, however, has already been done. Beyond making that clear, I prefer to close that chapter and focus on what lies ahead,” he said, not wanting to elaborate further on this matter. “For me it’s not positive that the noise comes from controversies of this kind,” he added when the journalists wanted to ask him more about the subject.
All the ingredients needed to stir up controversy were there. The advanced pupil of Valentino Rossi’s academy colliding with the brother of his great nemesis, who would go on to win that same day after almost three years of unprecedented drought. Since that unfortunate kick in Malaysia 2015, the footballisation of the world championship of motorcycling, the Barça-Madrid of two wheels, is disputed between the surnames Rossi and Márquez. Marc himself suggested this on Thursday. “He has never been a problematic pilot, what happens is that people see the surname Márquez and mix everything up. I have been in many messes, but I have gotten into it alone. He is different and to accuse him of that rule of three does not seem fair to me,” said the 93 at the doors of the San Marino GP. Another damn coincidence: no one can miss that we are at the home Grand Prix of the Italian legend, native of nearby Tavullia.
In this town, every week, Bagnaia, Bezzecchi, Marini, Morbidelli and company train alongside Rossi, their sporting father as well as their idol. Marco Bezzecchi, for example, did not hesitate for a second last Sunday to also attack Alex Marquez after the race. None of the VR46 academy riders even threatened to break a lance in favour of the Gresini rider. It is an attitude that very well defines the conflict between the two greatest legends of motorcycling in the 21st century: either you are with one, or you are with the other. Without any grey areas. Although it is a taboo subject in the paddock, no one is oblivious to the memory of that unfortunate 25th October 2015, its tenth anniversary ever closer.
Next year Marc Márquez and Pecco Bagnaia will be teammates on the official Ducati team, a situation that also raises suspicions in several walls. “Do you know what is coming? I don’t think so,” says an observer from another team. The protagonists say that there will be no problems, but that has not been the tone in the garages of the eight-time champion from Cervera, a true specialist in psychological warfare, the same that the three-time champion from Turin has rejected on more than one occasion. “I have never entered into psychological games,” he assured in statements to this newspaper at the beginning of the year. His harsh words, however, which are not the first this year, show that the Italian is sharpening his tongue. His attitude on and off the track, this year, is also noticeably more aggressive than in the past.
The crossroads between Bagnaia and the Márquez brothers go back a long way. Alex and Pecco shared a team in the 2012 Spanish Speed Championship, largely thanks to the support of the former’s manager. Their relationship was always good and both spoke after calming down in the Ducati truck on Sunday night. On a personal level, the issue was resolved with a difference of opinion, although in the Márquez Alentà household it was hurt that the Italian took until this Thursday to withdraw the accusation regarding the intentionality of the youngest of the family. Everyone wants to turn the page, but the history of MotoGP shows that nothing disappears as if by magic.
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