Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia are head-and-shoulders clear of the MotoGP field in the world championship standings, winning 22 of the 32 races this season.

Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro, one of the few to have also claimed a sprint or grand prix win, recently stated that the title rivals are not getting the credit they deserve for riding at such a high level.

Do Martin and Bagnaia agree?

“I don’t know. I would like to go back and race in 2014 and 2015 to see my real level, let’s say,” Martin replied, referring to an era that saw the likes of Valentino Rossi, Jorge Lorenzo, Dani Pedrosa and Marc Marquez fighting for supremacy.

“I think we are in great shape,” Martin continued. “Firstly, I really don’t think a lot about what people say, because I cannot control it. And secondly, I think we are riding at an amazing level.

“With the so-equal bikes we have, to make this difference compared to the rest I think is crazy. The other day [in Japan], not only us, but also Marc and Enea, we were 14-17 seconds ahead of fifth place. For sure this is crazy.

“I think we are in a really good level. I think all sports worldwide are always increasing the records and lap times and it’s because everything improves. So we are better athletes also and we are I think better than the past.”

Bagnaia: “Everybody is doing what were differences in the past”

Martin leads the standings by 10 points from reigning champion Bagnaia with four rounds to go. The pair are among four riders on the latest GP24 Ducati, with another four using last year’s GP23 machines.

Bagnaia feels the level now reached in MotoGP means clear differences in riding technique are not as visible as in the past.

“I don’t care about what people think, because I know what we are doing and we are doing something much better than the rest,” Bagnaia said.

“I think already that is something huge. But we have to consider that people are always engaged with the past. And to beat the past is not easy!

“When you are thinking about, for example, I see Troy [Corser, watching press conference] and I think about Superbike, when you think about Superbike you still think that the battles are not the same as in the past.

“I think it’s the same [with MotoGP] right now, because to make the difference is much more difficult. In the past we had Casey [Stoner] sliding a lot, Valentino [Rossi] braking super hard and making his slides in the [corner] entrance.

“And right now everybody is doing the same thing: Exiting in the best way possible, braking as hard as possible. But it’s more difficult to see differences because now everybody is doing what were differences in the past.

“So I think it’s more difficult to understand what we are doing.

“What we did in Japan was something out of this world, considering the pace we maintained for all the race. And it’s for that I don’t understand and I don’t care about what people say.

“Because sometimes it’s like speaking with a wall. Useless!”

Although fellow Ducati riders Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez remain mathematically in title contention, they are 79 and 81 points behind Martin with only 148 points remaining.