The Ducati rider has won five of ✨the last nine races plus three further podiums (and a fifth non-score of the ൲season).

But th𒊎e title would have remained out of reach had Quartararo not also suffered four non-scores and only two podiums over the same period.

Reigning champion Quartararo must now win Sund🎀ay’s Valencia race and then needs Bagnaia 15th or lower to prevent the Italian claiming the title.

On the eve of the finale, six-time MotoGP champion Marc Marquez was asked if he felt Quartararo had ‘lost’ the title iไn the second half of the season or if Bagnaia had gone out and ‘won’ it.

“You can choose both ways,” Marquez replied. “Because Fabio did a lot of📖 mistakes, but Pecco won many races.

“Pecco did an amazi🎐ng second part of the season, that he did last year already. But last year, Fabio was constant and he managed his advantage.

“This year Pecco did the same thing. Amazing second part of the season, even better than last year, but Fabio was more inconsistent. But 🐼what I say is that Fabio, what he did in the first part of the season was more than the level he had [from] 🐠the bike.

“So he put that extra and then Pecco put that extra in the second part of the season, plus the bike [Ducati] for mඣe is working better t🗹han the Yamaha.

“But both of them deser𝓀ve it. And especially the way that Pecco managed the Malaysian GP is not easy. It's not easy when you are fighting for a championship. So yeah, [Bagnaia] has the level to be champion of𓆉 course.”

Prior to Sepang, Marquez spent much of the Phillip Island race lo🍃cked onto Bagnaia’s rear wheel.

“The strongest pointꦯ o💟f [a rider] is always combined with their bike,” Marquez said.

“Because the strongest point of Fabio is corner speed but it’s comb🌠ined with the bike. Then Pecco, they had aꦗ really good bike to take profit with the new tyre and especially to manage the race with a group.

“Because they have an amazing engine, the f🍎astest of the grid. And they have also very good braking stability. So they are braking so late. Corner speed is 🍃not amazing, but acceleration is so good so then it's very difficult to overtake.

“But as I saw in Phillip Island, is not everything amazing with the Ducati bike. Also the corner speed was slower than mine and especia🍌lly Suzuki also had much better corner speed than th🌜e Ducati.

“So then you🥂 need to find a compromise and as a rider, be smart and take the profit of your bike and adapt to your bike and he [Bagnaia] did very well and he's riding very very good.

“Whoeve🉐r is the best rider in MotoGP 2022 will finish♒ the [Valencia] race and be champion.”