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Things couldn’t have got much worse for Pecco Bagnaia than what happened today at Lusail. The Italian was one of the big favourites, but his race ended up in the gravel trap. After a complicated qualifying session, the Ducati rider was forced to play catch-up, only to end up on the ground on lap 11 taking out the unfortunate Martin in an attempt to overtake him.
Losail therefore leaves disappointment and bitterness on the face of the rider from Piedmont, whose expectations were quite different when he arrived in Qatar.
"Today was a complicated race - he declared - I struggled from the very beginning, in fact I was forced to make up the gap that separated me from the best. My pace was not bad, but unfortunately I ended up on the ground and at that moment my GP ended ”.
The Ducati rider then explained the crash.
“Martin was slower than me in that moment, like 3-4 tenths. I was struggling to overtake him on the straight, just as I was struggling to overtake the Yamahas as well. The fact is that I arrived late in turning in for the corner. I braked slightly harder than I should, but I lost the front and ended up on the ground. It was a strange crash, obviously I apologized to Ducati for what happened, as well as to Pramac and Martin. Right now I can't help but think about the next race. It certainly wasn't a crazy move ”.
Apart from the race, Bagnaia then described the problems he has faced, getting it out of his system…
“Up until FP3 I was a test rider. The fact is that I'm not here to be a tester, but to race and win races. Unfortunately, here in Losail we weren't able to optimize the work, because we had different dynamics. We have done a billion tests, without being able to define the best possible package, arriving late. I'm happy to help the Ducati riders, but not on a race weekend, since we should have other priorities”.
Pecco then went into further detail...
"Since the start of the tests, I have never ridden the same bike for more than two sessions in a row. I have never been able to work to adapt my riding style to the bike or the track here in Losail. It is just not conceivable to work so hard and finish my work only in FP3, also because this was certainly not the right weekend to do it ”.
The Italian did not mince his words with Ducati…
“I spoke to Ducati and Gigi about how we approached this race weekend. I started focusing on myself and my riding style only starting from FP4 on Saturday afternoon, when I felt confident. For sure, after this race, I won't touch anything on the bike anymore. I’m obviously disappointed about how this GP went. This morning I knew I would not have been able to fight for the victory, but we didn't think we were so far behind ”.
Finally a comment about Bastianini…
“Enea was very good, I don't want any other message than this to come out, his bike is a very fast bike and we know this well, even if I think the new Ducati is better. However, it must be said that Bastianini, with that bike, only has to fill up with fuel and go out onto the track. He has nothing to do on the bike, in fact he started from where we left off, while I had a lot of work to do. Here in Qatar he was very fast and I am convinced he can fight for the World Championship like the other two riders who were on the podium with him today ”.
