MotoGP | Bagnaia: “I’ll get a fine every race like Jordan, but I won’t use the radio”

The disappointment of not being able to win in his Misano has not yet subsided for Pecco Bagnaia, despite yesterday’s second place being particularly valuable, having allowed him to recover 19 points on Jorge Martin, bringing him back to -7 in the World Championship. The reigning world champion consoled himself in part with a day of testing that went particularly well, given that it ended with the best time and with good indications especially for next season.

“I worked a lot in view of 2025. I didn’t try the fairing, Martin and Bastianini tried it and they were happy. I was very focused on other things, because our bike still needs to improve on some things. Unfortunately, these are things that we can’t use this year, because they need to be developed a little more, and I’m talking about the electronics. We still have some margin, but today it was difficult to understand something, because the times were practically identical with new or used tyres. Maybe we’ll have something in the second triple header and in that case it will help us”, said Bagnaia regarding the work programme he has carried out.

The good indication is that the performance actually came without even looking for it: “I did 1’30″9 with a medium tyre that had 22 laps on it, then I put on a new one and did 1’30″6. But if I had wanted to do a time attack with the medium tyre I would have done a low 30 given the way the track was set up today, but it didn’t make any sense”.

He then revealed that he had actually already homologated the new fairing in Great Britain, but he didn’t see it as a huge step forward: “I actually tried this aerodynamics over the Silverstone weekend, but I put it on and then I took it off straight away because I didn’t like it.”

The other positive aspect is that from a physical point of view he is making progress in recovering from the ailments suffered in the Aragon crash: “This morning I took a slow-release painkiller which worked really well. Then I also put two plasters on the painful areas which helped a lot. The effect lasted until two runs from the end, so I was basically fine”.

One of the news leaked today is that a radio communication system will become operational next year, which will initially only carry messages from Race Direction. Today several riders, those of Aprilia and Fabio Quartararo, have done some tests in this direction, trying to give open messages. The Piedmontese, on the other hand, is really against it, especially for the technology that is used, which does not involve earphones, but a device that is placed on the outside of the ear and transmits the audio through vibrations. Pecco cited Michael Jordan to explain how far he is willing to go to oppose it.

“I think I’ll get fines like Jordan every game, because I won’t put anything like that. He got a fine every game because he used red shoes (they had to be white by regulation). I tried the systems and they press on the bone: if you stay with your fingers on that point for just 30 seconds it starts to hurt, try to imagine driving for 40 minutes. It’s something that doesn’t make sense, so I’ll get fines. We have all the possible systems to be warned of anything: there’s the dashboard, the pitboard, so there’s no need for other communications that can also be a cause of distraction. We drive vehicles that don’t allow you to be distracted”.

For a novelty that he does not share, without a shadow of a doubt he is the rider who was most impressed by the new construction for the front tyre that Michelin would like to introduce in 2025, to which a 30-minute session was dedicated after the lunch break.

“I love it. It was something I really needed. I’m a rider who uses the brake a lot to enter the corners and this tyre seems super good from that point of view. It probably makes the changes of direction a bit more difficult, because it’s a bit heavier, but I really like the grip and the way it allows you to push on the tyre. Also, the feeling is that when you’re behind another bike you feel less of the pressure problem, so it can be a step forward. I really like it and I hope they bring it next year”, said Pecco.

When it was pointed out to him that several others said they struggled especially when entering corners, he added: “I was really braking like hell. My problem with the tyre we have now is that I can’t brake as I would like, because otherwise the front doesn’t hold up. With this one, however, I have much more margin. I decided to try to push at Turn 2 and Turn 4, where if I had crashed nothing would have happened because they are slow, to see if there was any movement or a closure of the front, instead it held up very well. I think it’s the biggest step forward they’ve made in recent years”.

Trying to assess the possible increase in pressure while riding behind another bike, he also had the opportunity to experience first-hand the difficulties that Honda is experiencing: “There were just 30 minutes to try this tyre. I was a bit behind Mir, but ‘unfortunately’ my engine is too powerful. I was behind in T1, but then I overtook him exiting Turn 6 before even putting it into third gear. It’s incredible, because their top speed is not bad, so it’s strange how slow they are in acceleration”.