What: MotoGP Grand Prix Of Barcelona
When: Sunday, November 17, 11 a.m.
It all comes down to a finish line on Sunday – for both the race and the MotoGP world championship. So the question is this – do you bet on the consistent presence, or the risk taker who will do whatever it takes to win?
There’s just two riders left in the race for the title – reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia and current series leader Jorge Martin. Bagnaia held off Martin to win the Malaysian Grand Prix. However, via his second-place finish, Martin is carrying a 24-point lead into the season finale
Oddsmakers recognize that Bagnaia must pull out all the stops this week in the Grand Prix of Barcelona and are making him the -110 odds-on favorite to win the race.
Let’s check out the latest MotoGP online betting odds for this race:
Grand Prix Of Barcelona Odds | |||
---|---|---|---|
Francesco Bagnaia | -110 | -110 | -110 |
Jorge Martin | +125 | +125 | +125 |
Marc Marquez | +450 | +450 | +450 |
Enea Bastianini | +900 | +900 | +900 |
Aleix Espargaro | +900 | +900 | +900 |
Pedro Acosta | +2800 | +2800 | +2800 |
Alex Marquez | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
Marco Bezzecchi | +3300 | +3300 | +3300 |
Brad Binder | +4000 | +4000 | +4000 |
Franco Morbidelli | +4000 | +4000 | +4000 |
Maverick Vinales | +4000 | +4000 | +4000 |
Fabio Quartararo | +8000 | +8000 | +8000 |
Jack Miller | +8000 | +8000 | +8000 |
Martin is the second betting choice to win the race at +250. Marc Marquez (+450), Aleix Espargaro (+900) and Enea Bastianini (+900) are the only other riders given odds shorter than +1000.
In this race, following Saturday qualifying will be the 14-lap sprint. The 24-lap main event race is also set for Saturday at 11 p.m. EST around the 14-turn, 2.894-mile Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya layout. Remember, the race odds could be changing based upon the results of the qualifying round and the sprint race. That’s why it’s always wise to monitor the early outcomes. You’ll be able to see which riders are holding hot hands and are the best for you to bet.
While you’re checking those odds, also remember to access these Vegas betting site bonuses. Why not always remain informed regarding the latest MotoGP news by following the Vegas Betting picks?
The two-time defending champion did what he had to do in the Malaysian Grand Prix, winning the race. However, he crashed out of the Sprint on the second lap and finished last. That outcome was costly as Bagnaia was seeking to close the points gap on leader Martin.
On the one hand, Bagnaia’s mission is simple. He must win Sunday’s race. It would be even better for his title hopes were he to also take pole position and win the Saturday Sprint.
Even at that, it might not be enough and here’s where Bagnaia’s mission becomes more complicated. He needs Martin to endure a difficult weekend. If the Spaniard maintains his usual consistent level of performance, there’s really nothing Bagnaia can do to retain the championship he’s won two years running.
The stability of Martin’s race to race performance is astonishing in its sameness. The Spanish rider has finished second in each of the past four races. Over the last six races, Martin has a win and five runner-up finishes. He’s been either first or second in nine of the past 10 races and 10 out of 12.
That level of consistency is tough to beat, which explains why Martin is holding a 24-point advantage over Bagnaia entering the Grand Prix of Barcelona. All he needs to do is to finish second yet again this week and Martin will be claiming his first career MotoGP world title.
Third in the current points standings, veteran Spanish rider Marc Marquez is a six-time champion in the MotoGP series. On home soil, his only available role will be to play spoiler.
Marquez will need to be stepping up his game if he’s going to be able to fill that role, however. Following a six-race run where he posted three wins and was third twice, Marquez is struggling. He was 12th in Malyasia after finishing 11th in Thailand.
Bagnaia is pleading with his Ducati Lenovo teammate Enea Bastianini for help in the Grand Prix Of Barcelona. He needs both Bastianini and Marquez to finish ahead of Martin to give him any chance at the championship.
Bastianini’s third-place finish in Malaysia was his best performance since his win six races ago in the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
If you like romantic finishes, then you shoud be rooting for Aleix Espargaro to have a big day in the Grand Prix of Barcelona. It’s a farewell race for the Spanish rider, who is retiring at season’s end.
Setting him with +900 odds for this race seems optimistic, however. Espargaro is 11th in the overall standings. He’s not had a podium finish all season.
The confidence that the oddsmakers are showing in Martin’s title shot is evident in the betting line assigned to him. The Spanish rider is -1000 to be the 2024 MotoGP Series champion.
If you opt to back Bagnaia to find a way to win his third straight title, that will get you odds of +550
Is essence, there will be two winners following Sunday’s race. Bagnaia is going to keep his faint title hopes alive by winning the race.
However, it won’t be enough in the big picture. Martin’s consistency almost certainly means that he’ll be the crossing the finish line immediately after Bagnaia, and that’s going to more than enough to lock up the 2024 MotoGP championship for the Spanish rider.
Bob Duff has been covering the online sports betting and casino industry since 2016. From major sporting events such as the NFL, NBA, MLB, UFC, NHL, Olympic Games and UEFA Champions League soccer, he’s also offered betting advice on such sports as chess, surfing, rugby and even marble racing. Duff has worked in the sports media industry since 1984. As a sports columnist with The Windsor Star, CanWest News Services, Postmedia and MSNBC.com, he covered a variety of major events, including the Stanley Cup final, World Cup of Hockey, Super Bowl, World Series, the 1996 Atlanta and 2008 Beijing Summer Olympic Games, NBA Finals, Ryder Cup, FIFA World Cup, NCAA Final Four and the Memorial Cup. Duff is partners in Detroit Hockey Now, a Detroit Red Wings web site. He is also the co-producer of the Give And Go Sport Education documentary that discusses the advantages of a multi-sport lifestyle in youth sport. He has also freelanced for such publications as The Hockey News, Beckett Hockey, Faceoff and Prospects Magazine. Duff is a contributor to The NHL Guide And Record Book, and Total Hockey, helped the NHL significantly in writing and research projects related to the league's 100th anniversary celebrations, and is listed as an honorary member of the Elias Sports Bureau. He is a member of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and the Baseball Writers Association Of America, through which he is on the writers’ committee that votes annually on the candidates for the Baseball Hall of Fame. As well, he is a published author of more than 25 books. Duff's books include The China Wall: The Timeless Legend of Johnny Bower; The Bruise Brothers: Hockey's Heavyweight Champions; Nicklas Lidstrom: The Pursuit of Perfection; Nine: A Tribute To Gordie Howe; Nineteen: A Tribute To Steve Yzerman; Seven: A Tribute to Ted Lindsay; and The History of Hockeytown; and I Wore 21: The Desmond Howard Story. Duff doesn’t merely write about sports, he plays them. He was an ice hockey goalie for 50 years, once famously winning a charity penalty shot shootout competition against NHL star Jason Spezza, and still plays rugby in the Niagara Rugby Union for Windsor Rogues RFC.