The summer break was really long for the MotoGP and especially for Pecco Bagnaia, who with the victory in Assen and the contemporary zero in the standings of Fabio Quartararo had tasted the idea of giving himself a chance again in the 2022 title race. 66 points remain still many, but the Ducati rider seems to be starting over with the right spirit, on a track like Silverstone where last year he was unable to collect what he deserved.
“I’m happy to start again, because five weeks is really long, so I couldn’t wait to get here. Silverstone is one of the favorite tracks of most of the riders and last year I was pretty competitive until the race, when then I had a problem with the rear tire. In any case, I think that this year, with the improvements we have made to our bike, we can be more competitive from the beginning of the weekend, “said Bagnaia during the press conference that opened. the weekend of the British Grand Prix.
The first half of the championship was marked by too many ups and downs. The satisfactions were not lacking, because three victories arrived, but also the beauty of four zeroes and a 15th place that in fact made them almost useless in terms of the championship. This is why the goal for these last 9 races is to be able to be more constant.
“If I want to have a chance to win the championship again, I have to finish more races. It’s okay to win, but it’s also important to finish races when you can’t win them. In the last six races I’ve won three, but I’ve also crashed in the races. three more. Twice for my mistakes and another for other reasons. This second part of the season will be important for me, because I will have to find consistency, but always trying to be competitive as we were in the first part “.
The vice-world champion also joined the chorus of colleagues who said they were opposed to the penalty inflicted on Fabio Quartararo for the contact he was the protagonist of with Aleix Espargaro in Assen. What is out of tune is the inconsistency of the commissioners, who in many cases, on all that of the carom triggered by Takaaki Nakagami in Barcelona, instead turn a blind eye.
“It is difficult to understand this type of penalty. In Qatar I had done more or less the same thing and I had no penalty. In Barcelona we saw a big accident, that was really irresponsible driving, but Nakagami did not receive no penalty “.
The fact remains that the long lap penalty for the Yamaha rider offers a great opportunity to try to further mend the gap in the World Championship, so he cannot afford not to take advantage of it: “I disagree with the penalty imposed on Fabio, but certainly we do. we must try to take advantage of this situation to try to recover as many points as possible against him “.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
The great protagonist of the day, however, was Andrea Dovizioso. The three-time vice-world champion has announced that he will retire immediately after the Misano race, so he will say goodbye to MotoGP in less than a month. Inevitably, Pecco was also asked to think about the Forlì.
“It is difficult to know why he made this decision, but if he chose to retire after Misano he will surely have his reasons and I can only agree with him. Thinking about his career, he was one of the most important Italian riders and a positive example for all of us, because he did a really fantastic job at Ducati. “
Bagnaia’s holidays were also marked by the accident in Ibiza, when he ended up off the road with a blood alcohol level higher than that allowed by Spanish law. An episode that the direct interesting has guaranteed to have archived and that will not affect his restart.
“I have already said and written on my social channels what I thought, but three or four weeks have already passed since that moment. It is also something that has not touched the sphere of MotoGP, so it was easy for me to go back to thinking about races. and not what happened. It was a mistake, but I admitted it. “
Finally, he also commented on the news that next year the championship will start in Portimao, therefore in Europe: “We always say that when we arrive in Europe we see the real potential of all the riders, so we’ll see if anything changes. I’m happy anyway, because Portimao is a track that I like “.
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