MotoGP | Bagnaia: “Vale’s words on Marc? I want to stay out of it”

Rain is falling on Misano, which doesn’t even seem like the same place where MotoGP raced just ten days ago. Back then, it was the heat that dominated, except for a few drops of rain during the long race, but today when the MotoGP paddock came to life again, there was rain and decidedly lower temperatures waiting for him. Something that could also change the values ​​on the field a bit for this Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.

And maybe there are also those who hope so, like Pecco Bagnaia, who in the Grand Prix of San Marino and the Rimini Riviera had to settle for two second places, bowing to Jorge Martin in the Sprint and Marc Marquez in the long race, even if these results allowed him to reduce the gap in the standings with respect to the Prima Pramac Racing rider to just 7 points.

“I tried, but there was no opportunity,” Bagnaia said in the press conference that opened the weekend, thinking back to the last race. “In both races, with Jorge in the Sprint and with Marc on Sunday, I had no way to attack them. In the long race, when I saw that Jorge was coming into the pits, I understood that I could recover a lot of points, so I tried in every way to win the race. When I understood that it wouldn’t be possible, however, I focused above all on finishing the race scoring as many points as possible. By finishing second I gained 19 on him, and that’s a lot. I’m 7 points behind, but I could also be ahead without what happened in Aragon. Now I can’t wait to race, enjoy the weekend and try to get the most out of it.”

A double race on the same track is a situation that had become almost a norm in the COVID era, but which is now something of an anomaly: “The advantage is that we already know the tyres and the setting, so we only have to fix small things. The negative thing is that everyone will be more competitive, because we have done a race and a test here. If nothing else, with lower temperatures we should have fewer temperature and pressure problems with the front tyre, so there should be more chances to battle.”

With his second place last Sunday, Bagnaia has recovered 19 points on Martin. So, he was asked if today he would sign to not win but still put a lot of hay in the barn: “It depends. If Jorge is in front of me, obviously not. If he is behind… But I will try to give everything to take this victory: it is my 100th Grand Prix and it could also be Ducati’s 100th victory in MotoGP, so a milestone. Obviously, however, I also have to think about the championship, so I will do it without taking too many risks, but I want to try to win, so now I would not sign for two second places”.

This weekend the package will be the same as last race, because Ducati has decided not to introduce the new features tested in last Monday’s tests: “No, they are things for next year. It’s a shame, because I was happy with the things we tried, but they are not ready yet, so we will not use them this weekend. But I don’t think they will be ready for the rest of the season either and that we will continue to race with the same bike, which I think is already quite good”.

Regarding the final sprint, which includes seven races in nine weeks, Pecco seems ready to try to defend the crown: “I feel better physically, because in this part of the season I wasn’t at my best last year. My experience gives me the motivation to be able to handle the pressure and I think it will end in Valencia, although it will depend on the results and the next tracks are all good for us and for the Ducati riders. It will be important to try to do a good job. It won’t be easy, but I like this part of the season”.

Last week, his mentor Valentino Rossi’s statements caused quite a stir, as he returned to 2015, calling Marc Marquez “the dirtiest rider ever”. The Piedmontese, therefore, finds himself a bit caught between two fires, given that the rider from Cervera will be his teammate next year, but he preferred to stay out of the fray: “Honestly, I am out of this context. I wasn’t racing in MotoGP in those years and I want to stay out of it, because it’s something that doesn’t concern me”.

Last race Marquez was also booed by those present under the podium and all those present at the conference did not hide their annoyance by this. Bagnaia included: “Two weeks ago Morbidelli said that haters will always hate and I agree with him, even if I think it’s disrespectful. We always give our best, so it’s something I don’t understand. I read in some articles that this only happens in Italy, but it’s not true, because it happened to me too, to be booed when I won in Barcelona. It’s disrespectful, I don’t understand, but it’s also very difficult to stop”.

Earlier this year, Pecco signed another two-year deal with Ducati, but with this being his 100th MotoGP race and having raced with the Reds, he was asked if he thinks he can spend his entire career with the Borgo Panigale manufacturer: “I love Ducati and I think Ducati loves me, but you can never tell. We were saying the same thing when Marc signed a four-year deal with Honda, then we all know what happened. You never know. I’ve been in love with Ducati since I was a kid, but it also depends on whether something changes in the future. At the moment, my mentality, my vision, is to continue like this. I love my team, I love the people who work at Ducati, not only at Ducati Corse, but also at the factory. If I can, I would like to share my entire career with them.”

Finally, he was asked to remember Luca Salvadori, who passed away last weekend in an accident in the Road Race World Championship: “We lost a great friend, with whom I had many dinners. A kind, funny guy, with a great passion for motorsport, which led him to want to try every possible alternative of our sport. I will miss his videos, his passion, then it was always nice to talk to him, because he was a very positive guy, who transmitted this thing to you. I will miss him, but I will try to always keep him alive in my mind”.