Even in the most difficult moments, Pecco Bagnaia has always said that he has great faith in Ducati and his team. A trust that he apparently placed well, because this time too the men in Red seem to have managed to find the key to returning to the reigning world champion a Desmosedici GP that behaves exactly as he wants when braking.
After the accident in Barcelona it was more the instability of his bike when braking that worried him than his sore leg, also leading him to the mistake last Sunday at the Buddh International Circuit, which allowed Jorge Martin to get back to just 13 points behind distance from him.
However, the hard work he has done in recent days together with his guys and the Borgo Panigale engineers has allowed him to arrive at Motegi with the right solution to find the right feeling to ride as he wants. This is also certified by the ranking, which sees him in second place on Friday, behind Brad Binder who set the new Japanese track record.
“I’m happy with today, because we finally managed to identify what the slowdown was in terms of braking compared to the last two races. It was a big step forward in terms of confidence and feeling. This afternoon we managed to be faster and more constant, because under braking I was able to make a difference again, and it’s a real relief. There’s still a little bit to do, but I’m very happy because my team did a really good job”, said Bagnaia at the end of the day.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“I want to say a big thank you because in any case they put a lot of effort into giving me something that I had been asking for for a couple of races. It wasn’t that it was a problem, it was just a different way of braking. I prefer that the bike doesn’t move and in the last few races it was too aggressive. It’s not that the bike did anything different. We focused a lot on braking, so tomorrow we will focus on other aspects. However, if the race was this afternoon or tomorrow, I would be happy,” he added.
KTM introduced the carbon frame with which Dani Pedrosa performed very well in his wild card at Misano and according to Pecco he could be a very tough opponent for the rest of the weekend: “The first thing I thought is that if there “Binder is up front, he’ll be tough this weekend. We know perfectly well that if Binder starts in front, he’s a really tough guy to beat.”
His rivals in the title race, the aforementioned Martin and Marco Bezzecchi, are behind him for now, in fourth and fifth position: “At the moment I don’t pay too much attention to what Jorge and Bez do, because I know that they will certainly they will be fast. At the moment, however, I’m thinking more about us and solving our problems.”
Finally, he wasn’t surprised by the fact that Aprilia also slipped into third position with Aleix Espargaro: “It’s not a coincidence because they were also very strong last year, Aleix set excellent times. It’s always very difficult, because we know what the potential of Aprilia is.”
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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