Jorge Martin's defeat of Pecco Bagnaia in the 2024 MotoGP title fight drew plenty of applause for the former and sympathy for the latter - but with more than one of their peers taking the opportunity to back Marc Marquez for the 2025 crown.
Bagnaia won 11 grands prix - the first rider in history in any class of motorcycle grand prix racing to win double-digit grands prix and miss out on the title, albeit with the crucial caveat that even 20 rounds in a season is a relative novelty.
Here's what his counterparts made of his defeat and Martin's triumph.
Bezzecchi: The strongest - but not the fastest - won
VR46 rider Marco Bezzecchi is Bagnaia's best friend on the grid - but will also be Martin's team-mate at Aprilia next year and counts the Spaniard among his friends, too.
And he feels that Bagnaia "will remember" the feeling of this 10-point defeat forever.
"Jorge made a wonderful season already last year. This year he was even better, very consistent, very fast, always competitive through every weekend of the year. He didn't win as much as Pecco but at the end he was the strongest," said Bezzecchi.
"It's not always the fastest that wins the title.
"I'm very sorry for Pecco, I mean, I'm his friend - I'm friends also with Jorge, I have nothing against him, but of course I am closer to Pecco and I supported Pecco more, but Jorge was very good, and he deserved the championship, Pecco deserved it, too, but at the end Jorge deserved it more because at the end he won it.
"I am sure that Pecco will come back. This day he will remember for his whole life, and he will come back very strong.
"And to have Jorge as a team-mate next year, it's big luck, because at the end he's the strongest one. It's an opportunity to learn, it's an opportunity to get information from the best rider in the world."
Oliveira: Marquez should start 2025 as favourite
"Every rider, especially Pecco and Martin, they had their strong points and their weak points. But strong and weak [for Bagnaia and Martin] was being first, second or on the floor," chuckled Trackhouse Aprilia rider Miguel Oliveira, a former Moto2 title rival of Bagnaia's and a former KTM stablemate of Martin's.
"So, when you have a championship like that, the rest is just a cloud, it doesn't even enter into the mathematics. When Marc started to ride a little bit better, he was [also up] there.
"I'd say Marc's the favourite for next year, for sure. He will be on it. Pecco is very, very strong, a very complete rider, but a guy like Marc in the same garage will always put you into trouble."
Mir: Martin's title worth more because of 2025
A long-time rival of Martin's - losing out against him in the Red Bull Rookies Cup but getting the Moto3 title before Martin did - Mir now counts the Pramac Ducati rider as a peer in the pantheon of MotoGP champions.
"It was very impressive," he said of Martin's triumph. "Every time being the strongest at the end of the year in MotoGP is something very, very difficult.
"Jorge deserves this a lot because he fought a lot to get it. Also with the situation of next year, I think that this title has an extra value for him - and for everybody, probably."
Martin's move to Aprilia next year - a consequence of Ducati choosing Marquez over him for the works team spot - comes after a year in which Aprilia had had a promising start to the campaign but again declined hugely over the second half of the season.
"I'm happy for him," Mir continued. "I hope he's able to enjoy it as much as I did, when I won. I wish him the best and congratulations."
Zarco: I expect Marquez to win in 2025
Zarco, who rode for Pramac alongside Martin across 2021-23, said he was "so happy" for his team and his former team-mate.
"It's the best way to finish their story with Ducati," he added, in reference to Pramac also leaving the manufacturer - in favour of a link-up with Yamaha.
"Jorge did a very nice season, he was very strong, he kept control until the end. Pecco did an amazing job - when he had to win the races, he won the races, and that's very impressive. And he will still be like this next year, I guess, even if Marc, I guess, will be champion next year.
"I’m happy for Martin. And I'm very curious to see how he will handle this challenge for Aprilia. I appreciate Jorge, I cannot say we are big friends because we do not share anything but for what I shared with him in the [Pramac] box, we appreciate each other, we respect each other, and for this season it was good that he caught it [the title]."
Marini: Bagnaia was the special one - but erred too much
"I think the one who won the championship is always the right guy," mused Luca Marini, Bagnaia's good friend and fellow VR46 Academy member.
"At the end, I think that last year Martin made a huge mistake in Indonesia and maybe lost the championship in that moment. While Pecco made many mistakes this year and lost the championship for his fault.
"Pecco made an amazing season - but it's for sure his fault that he lost the championship, [rather than] that Martin was unbelievable this year. I think that Pecco was [the one who was] unbelievable this year. But sometimes he also made mistakes.
"For example, he just needed the 12 points from here [Barcelona in May] - in the sprint race, last lap, Turn 5, he was first with a gap to second, he made a mistake, he crashed, finally he lost the championship here.
"It's something that can happen. Also if I have to think on my Moto2 title [challenge in 2020], when I finished second [behind Enea Bastianini], I also lost a lot of points in many situations.
“It's part of racing, at the end the rider who won the title is always the best rider."
