Pecco Bagnaia was very keen to return to winning ways in “his” Misano and today he proved it in the Sprint of the MotoGP Emilia Romagna Grand Prix. Just like two weeks ago, the Ducati rider didn’t have a particularly brilliant start from pole position and Jorge Martin took advantage of this to steal the lead from him at the first corner.
If in the short race of the San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix he had given up on the impossibility of attacking due to the increase in temperature and pressure of the front tire, this time the reigning world champion tried to put pressure on “Martinator”, managing to force him into error with six laps to go and going on to take his fourth seasonal success in a Sprint. With the number 4 becoming a recurring number, given that there are now just as many points separating him from his rival from Prima Pramac Racing in the world championship standings.
“Tomorrow the situation will be a bit different, because we will race with the medium tyre, which I like better, but today I wouldn’t have accepted a second place, because the potential we have here was something not to be wasted. I knew I had a bit more and I tried in every way to stay close to him, because I knew we had a good chance, especially in T3. But it’s always complicated when you have an opponent like Jorge, who is really strong,” Bagnaia said when he met with journalists at the end of the day.
Regardless of the Madrid native’s mistake, the feeling is that today the conditions would have allowed an attack anyway. In any case, Pecco would not have given up so easily: “The difference is that I am physically at 100% when I ride and today I would not have given up. I would not have given up and I would have stayed there until the end. Somehow I would have gone in, maybe even risking going long and being overtaken. But I would have tried in any case: today I would not have accepted finishing second. After the two second places in the last race, today it was essential to win, so doing so in a Sprint, which is not exactly my territory, is a great value for us. Above all it makes us understand what the potential for tomorrow can be”.
From the outside, the feeling was that this Sprint had been mainly a race of nerves, but the Piedmontese doesn’t seem to see it that way: “Today was a race of pure speed, because we kept a truly incredible pace. When you are so close to the limit, it really takes a moment to make a mistake that can then cost you a position. At this moment, finishing second means losing points to Jorge, so you have to win. And the same thing goes for him the other way around. We always do everything to the maximum, the difference between winning and falling is really small, so you have to be perfect and not make mistakes, and it’s not easy at this level”.
But it is undeniable that at the moment he and Martin are really making the difference, to the point that today someone labeled them the “Fantastic 2”: “It’s really cool, because you know that if you give it your all you’re up there. We’ve reached such a level that it seems like we’ve gone back to a few years ago, when there were always the same guys up front. It took a bit of time to get to this level, but lately it’s always been like this, except for some exploits by the others every now and then. I think that at the moment we are making the difference both in qualifying and in the race”.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team, Enea Bastianini, Ducati Team
Photo credit: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
If we really wanted to nitpick, there would be something to fix, namely the start, given that it is the second time in a row that he has failed to take advantage of the pole in the Sprint: “In the last two races, I don’t know why, but my bike wants to wheelie. We definitely have to take a step from this point of view, because it is not possible to lose positions every time, especially at a time when it is essential to stay ahead due to the front tyre pressure. We have to try to improve the situation for tomorrow and understand why my bike wheelies”.
The other small flaw is not having broken the 1’30” barrier in qualifying, despite having set a new track record: “Unfortunately I touched the white line at the big bend and it closed in front of me and I lost 32 thousandths, which was all it took to do it. From the telemetry you can see that on the pole lap at T3 I was 32 thousandths slower. Unfortunately the white lines were painted last night and that wasn’t a great thing”.
The three-time world champion also explained the special helmet he used today, which is dedicated to “Tortellante”, a non-profit association that helps autistic children by making pasta by hand: “I believe that Tortellante is a fantastic initiative to give value to people with problems or limitations, making them participants in a huge project. Because what comes out of there is used in the kitchens of a three-Michelin-star restaurant. I knew about this reality, but I had never found the right moment, because I think it is something to be valued to the maximum. I thought that now was the right moment, even if this weekend was more difficult than I would have thought mentally, due to some things that happened, but doing good is always positive in every situation”.
But on the helmet there is also a dedication to a friend who is no longer with us, Luca Salvadori: “There is a small dedication to Luca, which obviously is not enough. In fact, I think that nothing will ever be enough, but in any case, carrying him with me for what will be my career is the least I can do”.
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