You never forget your first time. And that’s why Motorland Aragon will always have a special flavour for Pecco Bagnaia. After coming close on several occasions, the Ducati rider took his first MotoGP win on the Spanish ups and downs in 2021, at the end of a spectacular duel with Marc Marquez.
A statement that made him fully aware of his potential, making him click that was the first step towards winning his world crowns: “2021 was a strange season, I had several opportunities to win a race, but then I always made some mistakes. Since the victory here, I have won four of the last six races and this has changed my mentality a lot. I knew I had the potential, but from that moment something clicked, even if I worked so hard to get to the level we are at now”, said Bagnaia in the conference that opened the weekend of the Aragon Grand Prix, which returns to the calendar after a year of absence.
After his triumph in 2021, the following year he bowed only on the last lap to his current teammate Enea Bastianini. Therefore, all the ingredients to do well seem to be there: “I like the track, it has an incredible layout: there are violent braking sections and fast corners. I think we will be able to enjoy it, because our bike performed very well the last time we raced here, and therefore we will have excellent potential. We know that Marquez is very fast on this track and has won six times if I’m not mistaken, but also Martin of course. I think it will be a great battle between all of us, because I won in 2021, while Enea did it the last time we raced here. We will enjoy the track, the sun and the new asphalt”.
On the new asphalt surface laid since the last MotoGP outing, he added: “Usually, if the asphalt is really brand new, it tends to be slippery. I spoke about it with Celestino Vietti, who did the tests a couple of weeks ago: he said that in the morning it was a little slippery, but then in the afternoon the grip was already excellent, so I don’t think it will be a problem. There are some points that could be more slippery than others, but we’ll see”.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
At the press conference, in addition to him, there was also his rival in the race for the title Jorge Martin, but also two riders who are always to be kept an eye on in Aragon like the aforementioned Bastianini and Marc Marquez. And Pecco does not rule out a very hard-fought race between them: “It could be and it would be nice to have a bit of a battle between us. This track has always made it difficult to create a gap because there are so many fast corners. A good battle like in 2021 would be a great thing. But also like the one I had with Enea in 2022: he pushed like crazy to catch me and then he managed to overtake me right on the last lap”.
When asked if he would face that duel with Marquez from three years ago in the same way today, he added: “My mentality hasn’t changed, I want to win. The only difference between the first win in 2021 is that now I know how to win. Probably, if I had to do that race again today, I would try to create a bit more of a gap between me and Marc, but the battle would probably be similar. And it would be wonderful to recreate that battle, but with the same result.”
With his victory two weeks ago in Austria he has definitively entered the ranks of the sacred monsters of motorcycling, because his 25th success has projected him into the top 10 of the premier class, on par with a certain Kevin Schwantz: “We grow up watching riders, we hear about them and then you get to do the same number of victories in the premier class. Obviously it’s incredible and I’m very happy. Being in the top ten in history is fantastic. It’s always been a dream since I was a child to think of getting to this level, so I can only be very happy”.
Finally, he commented on the latest news for the 2025 calendar, namely the start in Thailand and the return of Brno: “It’s a bit strange, but for the first time we will go to Thailand and it won’t be the hurricane season, so maybe it’s not bad. Then Brno comes back and it’s one of the most beautiful tracks, so I’m very happy to go back to racing there”.
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