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MotoGP, Bagnaia reckons he’s going to have to take risks, just like Quartararo

A bit of an opaque Friday for the Ducati factory team, but Pecco is confident: “At Phillip Island it's time to attack“. Miller: "I couldn’t get the front loaded, but we know what to do"

MotoGP: Bagnaia reckons he’s going to have to take risks, just like Quartararo

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Francesco Bagnaia half smiles after the first day of practice for the Australian GP, ​​which saw him end FP2 with the eighth quickest time, more than three tenths away from Zarco's benchmark. The wind was not a friend of the rider from Piedmont, who despite finding a good feeling in both sessions of the day, was unable to shine in the time attack.

“It wasn't easy. Sincerely, this morning I was struggling with the wind. Then we did something that helped a lot in the second and third exit and I improved my pace quite a lot. Then in the afternoon the wind was even worse, and maybe for my setting or for my riding style I was struggling a bit - Pecco said – Then we did another step in front and in the third exit with used tyres I did quite a good pace and I'm happy about that. But in the time attack I didn't do a very good lap time. So, it's true I'm quite happy with the feeling I had before the last time attack in FP2, but I'm not happy for the time attack. It seems that in sector one and sector three I'm so behind, sector two and sector four I'm in front. So, it's strange, but we already know what to do."

Everything changes from one moment to the next at Phillip Island, but the official Ducati team rider seems to be quite confident. "Tomorrow will be windy too, but I think we have found a way to be competitive anyway - explained Bagnaia - It is very difficult here to be able to predict the weather: today it was raining a lot at lunchtime, but it was completely dry in FP2. In a situation like today I am happy with the work we have done, because I have improved in both sessions ”.

With only two points separating him from Quartararo, Pecco knows he will have to take risks to try to leave Australia in front of everyone.

"I have to risk for sure, like him - admitted the Ducati rider - We all have to risk in this moment because it's so important to be in front. These two races for sure are not the best for our bike, but we already demonstrated in tracks where we were slow last year we were competitive this year. So, lets' see. In any case I will do the same strategy as in past races. So, we will be pushing and try to do the best possible and try not to think too much about the championship, but this is the moment to attack."

“This track is short and fast, so the pace of the best is always very similar. The difference is consistency and we have to find it” added Pecco, who is not yet clear about which tyre to use in the race. “Today I tried the medium. Tomorrow, maybe I'll try the hard and the soft, but at the moment I think the medium can be a good tyre for the race. In FP2 I was quite competitive even with the hard at the rear and in 2019 I raced with the hard and it was fine. We will see because it is a different case, but it can still be an option ”.

Miller: "Not the ideal first day, but I know what to do"

“Not the ideal first day but I’ve had worse,” is how Jack Miller summed up Friday on his home track. A day that gave the Australian little satisfaction, as he was unable to go beyond 13th place in Free Practice 2. “I felt good this morning but then this afternoon, especially with the wind, I could not get the front loaded into the fast corners. We have some ideas of what we need to change but it is just one of these things with Phillip Island. You almost have to set the bike up completely differently to any other track, because there are so many corners where you are entering without loading it with the brakes. But I feel good. I think we have a decent plan for tomorrow. I just hope the weather stays good enough for us to have another time attack in the morning.”

Not exactly the way the Ducati rider would have wanted to start the weekend at his home circuit, but Miller is convinced he has some margin to turn things around: "In the morning the time came easily, despite the wet patches I was comfortable on the bike, but we did not fine-tune the changes that were necessary in the second free practice session. Tomorrow we know what we’re going to do.”

“Today we went long, just to try and get the thing more stable and it was just creating more stroke. The idea is basically to raise the pivot, get a bit more chain force and try and put a bit extra load on the front in general. That was the biggest issue today. The only time I could get it to load was by chopping the gas completely, to get the weight to transfer, and then turning the bike with the rear,” added Miller, explaining in more detail what he intends to change in the set-up of his Desmosedici GP.

 

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