MotoGP | Bagnaia: “It’s strange how we detached the GP23 without having any news”

MotoGP’s return to the track was a bitter pill for Pecco Bagnaia. The reigning world champion had arrived at Silverstone as the leader, with a 10-point advantage over Jorge Martin but, thanks to a crash in the Sprint and third place in the long race, the Ducati rider was overtaken by the Spaniard from Prima Pramac Racing, who, thanks to two second places in Great Britain, now leads him by three points.

But there is a good opportunity on the horizon to try to turn the situation around again, because this weekend the race is in Austria, where last year the Piedmontese was able to place a beautiful double. Upon his arrival at the Red Bull Ring, in fact, he made no secret of his liking for the ups and downs of Styria, underlining above all that he is keen to do well in the Sprint.

“It’s definitely one of the best tracks for our bike, which suits this layout perfectly. However, I love it when there are braking sections like on this track, because you have to brake very hard and very precisely. I like it a lot, but let’s see,” Bagnaia said in the press conference that opened the weekend.

“It’s definitely not that important to be leading the championship right now: it’s a bit like starting from scratch, because there are still ten races to go and there are only 3 points between us. It’s true that in this second part of the season we will have to try to improve in the Sprints, because that’s where Jorge is making the difference. We will have to try to be perfect every time,” he added.

If he and Martin are very close, in third place there is an Enea Bastianini who is coming off a beautiful double at Silverstone, but is 49 points behind. Marc Marquez instead pays even more than 60. According to Pecco however it is too early to hypothesize a battle between two limited to him and the Madrid native.

“It’s very difficult to predict what will happen. At the moment it’s true that Jorge and I are the two most consistent, but we’ve also made a lot of mistakes in the races. If Enea and Marc find consistency, then they’ll be able to fight with us until the end. Right now, however, it’s difficult to say whether it will be a battle just between the two of us.”

Just as he is convinced that it is still too early to start making calculations thinking about the championship, given that the season is only at the halfway point: “At the moment the championship is very competitive and it is not the right time to start thinking about the risks. You just have to push and always give 100%. I think it will be like this until the last three or four race weekends. Also last year I remember that in Japan, with a few races to go, we came first and second in a ‘flag to flag’ race in the rain and therefore full of risks. It depends on the situation, on the moment of the season, but this is not yet the time to manage the risks”.

Before the conference, Bagnaia also spoke to DAZN and made some interesting statements regarding the debate on the performance difference between the GP24 and the GP23, which according to him is very complicated to explain at the moment.

“I know they won’t believe me about everything I say, because everyone has their own opinion, but I don’t care. I’ve tried both bikes and there’s nothing better than the GP22. It was the most balanced bike of all. It’s a bit strange that, up until Le Mans, the GP23 was always fighting for the win, while from then until today we’ve dropped them, without us having any improvement. We haven’t had any evolution after the tests. And yet the GP23 has had two or three evolutions since the beginning of the year. But in the end they are very similar. I know no one will listen to me, but that’s the reality.”

Finally, he returned to the statements he made to the official MotoGP website regarding the arrival of Marc Marquez as his teammate next season.

“It can be positive because we are both intelligent: we can maintain this climate of serenity, and fight on the track. And it can be a disaster, because when you put two cocks in the same henhouse, it can be a disaster. But I’m counting more on the fact that we are two intelligent people. The most important thing is the results. I want to beat him and he wants to beat me. That’s out of the question. But off the track we will have to work together. Next year we will have one less GP25 and less data, so it will be important to work in the same direction.”