MotoGP | Bagnaia: “In FP1 every change of direction was a stab, then the painkillers…”

It was supposed to be a day of defense, but instead Pecco Bagnaia closed Friday at the San Marino and Riviera di Rimini Grand Prix in front of everyone. This morning, the Ducati rider was still in a lot of pain from the bruises he suffered in the accident with Alex Marquez last Sunday in Aragon, but with the help of painkillers in the afternoon session he found the right feeling with his Desmosedici GP and climbed to the top of the timesheets. A result that was probably unexpected for him too, but one that gives a lot of morale.

“This morning I was a bit worried, because the feeling wasn’t the best. I had a bit of pain in my shoulder and ribs and every change of direction was like a stab. Thanks to the painkillers, things went better in the afternoon, then in an hour we’ll see, even if now I’m quite relaxed. Now I know what I need and now I’ll go to work immediately with my physiotherapist”, said the Piedmontese at the end of the day.

“Tomorrow I won’t take anything in the morning, because I need to focus on the most important moments, so maybe I’ll grit my teeth a bit. But day by day it will get better, because there are no broken bones, it’s just a knock,” he added.

Today’s exploit has a double value for the reigning world champion: “For the body, to understand the situation. And for the mind because we went really fast. I have already lowered the time of last year’s qualification. In terms of motivation it gives a lot, even if we know that there is a lot of work to do. The goal for today was to finish in the top 10 and I did the best time. But it wasn’t just the time attack that went well, because the pace is fantastic”.

Lately, Misano seems to be a bit enchanted for him, given that in 2023 he arrived there crippled after the accident in Barcelona in which Brad Binder ran over his right leg. However, the situation is better now: “It’s easier now. A year ago I almost couldn’t walk. The difference is that you use your shoulders much more than your legs, so it’s better now”.

Also helping him is the great grip offered by the Misano asphalt, which has put things back to normal after last week when there was practically no grip at Motorland: “After Aragon, anything would have been better. Honestly, the grip I found here is normal grip, which should be the standard. Racing in a situation like Aragon, in the middle of sand and dirt is not normal. In the end here we know that the grip level is good and that they turn a lot, so the track is always clean. This morning we immediately turned in 1’31″7, which is a really fast time. And on many tracks you can’t start straight away like that”.

“Unfortunately in Aragon, for some reason, I wasn’t in a position to do anything. I was in difficulty and all sorts of things happened. Coming back to a race where the feeling is normal makes all the difference. In the end Marc was able to be fast right away, because I think the victory in Aragon gave him great motivation, and in any case he has always been strong here. I think the fight is mainly between me, Martin and Marquez, even if Bastianini and Morbidelli are not far away,” he added.

When asked if he would like to play tomorrow’s Sprint in a body to body between these two, he concluded: “With Enea. For the score, but also because it’s nice when Enea and I are first and second.”