The summer break seems to have broken Pecco Bagnaia’s rhythm a bit. The reigning world champion was coming off four consecutive victories, which had taken him to the top of the world standings, but the Silverstone weekend interrupted his streak and gave the world championship lead back to his rival Jorge Martin, who however precedes him by just three points.
Yesterday in the Sprint he slipped when he was in fourth position and today he tried to set the pace of the race, but he had some difficulties in managing the tyres of his Ducati and therefore, after risking a repeat of yesterday’s fall, he was mainly concerned with staying out of trouble and finished third, behind his teammate Enea Bastianini and “Martinator” himself.
“I’m satisfied, because after yesterday it was important to finish the race. It wasn’t easy, because I got in front and tried to manage as much as possible, but not being able to push so much on the medium tyre in front, I had to push a bit more with the rear one to get the bike to turn and I found myself in difficulty at the end”, the Ducati rider told Sky Sport MotoGP.
“I tried to go after Jorge, but when I lost the front at Turn 7 I just tried to get to the end. I had already taken zero points yesterday, so today it was too important to finish the race. As for Enea, we know that when he starts well on Friday, then he is a tough nut to crack, because he is very strong in the last part of the race and he showed it again today,” he added.
Jorge Martin, Pramac Racing, Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
When asked if this drop in tyre performance was expected, he continued: “I expected to be able to manage it a bit more, honestly. In fact, in my opinion, it was a consequence of not being able to push with the brakes on the front. Every time I tried, I went a bit longer and this situation put me in a bit of difficulty. It’s not the first time that when I can’t push on the front, I run out of tyre on the back. It can happen, the important thing is to have finished the race and achieved a good result. After the front closed on me, in fact, it was better not to risk it”.
On the horizon now are the Red Bull Ring Aragon and Misano, tracks where he usually manages to be very fast: “I really like Austria, but there are many riders who are strong there. Like in Misano. I think that today’s podium could also be replicated in Misano, because both Enea and Jorge are very strong there. This year we will arrive in better physical condition, but we will see”.
With the double at Silverstone, Bastianini has reduced the gap to the top to 49 points, so now he must also be considered fully in the race for the title with him and Martin: “Enea has always been in the game, because in any case there are 37 points every weekend and in this one he earned me 21, so you always have to stay on top. We know Enea’s speed, so if he gets his consistency right he can be a fearsome opponent for the season, who can always fight for the top positions like me and Martin”.
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