You are here

MotoGP, Bagnaia says it’s impossible to compare his sanction with Quartararo’s

"The penalty is correct; it was my mistake. I think we will see Marc at the Misano tests and at Aragon, it's something we can be happy about. I feel obliged to help the other Ducatis even if they don't need it "

MotoGP: Bagnaia says it’s impossible to compare his sanction with Quartararo’s

Share


The first day of free practice on the Misano circuit brought joy but also pain for the two riders of the Borgo Panigale manufacturer. Joy, like that of Jack Miller who set his pace, ending FP2 with the third best time of the day. Excellent results also for the Ducati of Pecco Bagnaia, one of the favourites for the win, who improved both his pace and fastest lap between the two free practices, ending up with the second best time behind Bastianini's Ducati. Joys but not without a little pain, as Pecco paid dearly for an oversight at the end of FP1 in which he slowed down, hindering the trajectories of the other riders, an action that was then sanctioned by race direction with a drop of three positions on the starting grid. Qualifying on Saturday, made even more uncertain by the weather conditions, will now be even more fundamental in a championship that has now reached its final stages.

 “I think it’s correct, I totally agree with the penalty – Pecco explained - I made a mistake, I thought that it was already finished, that I had already taken the chequered flag, but I didn’t. I made a mistake.”

A penalty of three positions on the grid that could have considerable significance for the Italian riders, especially given the uncertain weather conditions foreseen for Sunday's race.

“I already said sorry to the stewards and said it was ok, it’s correct. I also asked why it was a three-place grid drop and not a long lap. They told me it’s because it’s the first time I did it. For the first time you have a warning, which is a grid penalty, and then you get the long lap. I agree with them and it’s the only way possible to have a step in terms of paying more attention in this situation. So, I agree with them.”

Are three positions on the grid a lighter penalty than a long lap?

 “It depends. Silverstone no, but here yes. Today I think we have to discuss, but we already spoke to the safety commission that the long lap penalty has to be the same for all the tracks. But this is impossible to do.”

How much will this penalty affect your race weekend?

“In terms of speed for the race it changes nothing, but in terms of qualifying I surely need to do a front row because starting from the second row is already more difficult, but it's acceptable. From the third row it starts to become too difficult. The best result would be to set the best time in qualifying, fourth place on the grid is one of the best starts ".

Yet last year Enea managed to finish third on the podium starting from eighteenth.

"It's not impossible, it's not like at Sachsenring here, overtaking is certainly more feasible, but with the current level reached in MotoGP, qualifying will certainly be more important."

You also had a crash in FP1. Was it a wrong choice of tyres or was it caused by the bumps on the track?

 “Just in front of me was Luca Marini. I was riding faster than him, so I just tried to be more on the inside to overtake him on the corner after. But I haven’t done so many kilometres around here, so I didn't know that the white lines are not grippy!” he joked. “So I touched the white lines and crashed, my mistake.”

Speaking of your rivals, Fabio has shown that he has an excellent race pace.

"Fabio's pace was impressive, and the Aprilias were also very fast but I expected that. Despite the crash, the sensations on the bike were good in both free sessions and we are also working hard on the starts. When I understand why I crashed, it doesn't affect me in the next exit, in fact after that crash I improved even more".

Fabio jokingly said that in your place they would have given him three years in prison as a penalty.

"Last year they gave him a penalty for racing with open leathers, a very dangerous thing. This year in Assen he made a slightly risky overtaking, which perhaps was sanctioned too harshly, but that made him crash and also affect another rider's race, so I think me slowing down in FP1 this morning is not comparable. "

Another unknown factor will be the track condition on Sunday, the weather forecasts promising a race in the wet.

"I'd prefer to race in the dry. We know we can be fast even in the wet, but the rain is always an unknown factor and increases the chances of making mistakes."

In the last few laps we saw you riding with Enea. A rehearsal for the collaboration next year?

"Today I often found myself close to the other Ducatis. I feel obliged to make sure that there are as many Ducatis as possible in the front rows, not that they need it, they are all very fast riders it is clear. I was pleased to help both Enea and Bezzecchi and Marini ".

You said you also worked a lot on the starts, is that what is making the difference compared to the early phase of the championship?

"At the Barcelona tests we did a lot of double starts, I went out of the pits, started and returned and then started again. This allowed us to understand many things and to leave the clutch unchanged. We changed some values ​​to improve above all our consistency in the starts. ".

Apart from the penalty, in what state of mind do you end this day?

"I'm very serene, the penalty received was right, but I know I can be fast. I haven't even thought about last year's crash at Misano 1, it's a difficult corner where mistakes can be made."

There is also a lot of talk about Marc's return, which seems imminent.

 “I think he will race in Aragon. I think we all know well Marc and we all know that he will arrive in the Misano test on Tuesday and he will want to go fast. So I think that if after the first day he will recognise that he’s already in a good situation, he will be part of Aragon GP. It's something that we can be happy about, to have Marc back again.”

Miller: The only unknown factor is the weather

 

"It was a positive day - Jack told us - the bike behaved very well despite the track having some bumps. Today everything went the right way, every time I went in and out of the pits, we were able to improve the sensations on the bike and to understand what still needed to be worked on. The race pace is good and the tyres behaved well, especially the hard compound. The only real unknown factor of this race weekend will be the condition of the track on Sunday. "

Have you made any changes to the bike setup?

"No, we continue to work with the last Barcelona test setup, we tried to soften the suspension to see how the bike would behave on the bumps, but then we went back to the original setup with a stiffer suspension. Right now I simply jump on the bike, I immediately understand what the situation is and then I adapt with my riding style. The only difficulty encountered this morning was precisely to regain control of the bike at the exit of the bend due to the bumps, the track is full of them".

It seems that the bike has now reached a true balance.

"Yes, by now we have tested it on different tracks and different conditions, and the performance is always very high. This stability allows us to play with small details such as the suspension this morning or the choice of tyres".

 

Related articles