MotoGP, Bagnaia admits he needed a race like this to get his confidence back

After the disastrous first two Grands Prix, the fifth place at Termas de Rio Hondo is a breath of fresh air for Bagnaia. Obviously he cannot be particularly happy with a placement, but this time Pecco performed a convincing comeback from thirteenth place, revealing at least some of the rider last seen at the end of 2021.

"We did a really good job in the warm-up and we were lucky it was extended to 40 minutes - explained the Ducati rider - I regained that confidence in the front that I was missing, in the race I was able to push under braking and cornering. I'm honest, I needed a race like this ".

The fifth row, however, is not the right place to start for those aiming for the podium.

“It was just my fault, I apologized to the team because my guys worked hard and I ruined everything just because I got nervous,” he admitted.

The hope now is that this is just a step towards getting back to the top.

“I hope to have the same feelings at Austin, but I'm sure this weekend has been an important lesson for me - continued Bagnaia - Today I managed to be calmer, you can make mistakes but you have to understand why you make certain mistakes. It is important not to have pressure and to remain calm, a fifth place is not my goal, but I am on the way to getting back to fighting for the win ”.

One positive thing is that the championship has not yet found a real dominator and although Pecco’s position in the standings does not look particularly good, he is clearly still in the hunt.

“I hope that everything is still completely wide open - he said - From a certain point of view, this uncertainty is lucky for those who started badly like me, even if I know I still have to improve. It is clear that there are many fast riders, but we have also encountered some strange situations in these races. The GP in Qatar was the most normal one, at Mandalika there were different tyres and a race in the wet, we hadn't been here for two years and the tyres have changed compared to 2019. I think that when things get back to normal we will see more consistency in the results, perhaps starting with Austin ”.