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Bagnaia arrived with a few aches and pains in Misano after his Aragon crash. How his shoulder and neck would react to riding a MotoGP bike was his main doubt, one that he was able to remove on the first day of practice. Eighth time in the morning (without painkillers) and first in the afternoon (with medication). The balance is positive.
"How do I feel? With painkillers I feel great! - joked Pecco - This morning I was a bit scared because my feelings were not the best, I felt a lot of pain in my shoulder and ribs. But I had already decided to use the meds in the afternoon, and after warming up for 2 or 3 laps, everything was better. I was not 100 percent, but I could concentrate on riding."
What did you feel in FP1?
"This morning was complicated, I was trying to do a good job, but at every change of direction I felt like I had a knife stuck in me. Luckily we are at Misano, a track I know perfectly, and being able to focus on riding makes a big difference, this gives me confidence. My goal for today was to be in the top 10, but I finished the session first. The one lap was good, the pace was great, I'm very happy."
Were you also able to improve your Ducati?
"I didn't touch it, it was the painkillers that made me feel better. As soon as I took them I could brake harder, force a corner entry."
What do you expect for the next two days?
"I think the first day is the worst. Now I know what I need and I will work with my physiotherapist. Nothing is broken, so my condition will improve both tomorrow and Sunday. Tomorrow morning I will not use medication, but in the race I will need it."
Last year you arrived at Misano with a very sore leg.
"It is easier now, a year ago I could hardly walk. The difference is that you use your shoulders more than your legs on the bike, but it's better now."
Is it a more important day for the body or the spirit?
"For the body to understand the situation, for the mind because I went really hard. I've already lapped below my qualifying time from last year, so on a motivation level it does a lot. I know there is still a lot of work to be done."
Your opponents always seem to be the same.
"It's good, I'm happy. Unfortunately, at Aragon, for some reason, I was in no condition to do anything, I was always in trouble, everything happened. Getting back to a normal feeling right away makes a difference. Marc managed to be fast right away at a track where he has always been very strong, in my opinion the Aragon win gave him a lot of motivation. I think the fight will be mainly between me, Marquez and Martin, but also Bastianini and Morbidelli were very fast."
Who would you like to fight with tomorrow in the Sprint?
"With Bastianini, for the championship and also because it's nice when he and I are first and second."
Are you clear about the tires?
"Marc and Jorge did several laps on the soft and we saw that it is competitive. I focused on the medium and it felt really good. I think for the Sprint the soft will be the right one, for the race I don't know."
After Aragon, how much did Misano help you regain confidence?
"After Aragon anything would have been better. The grip we found here is normal, what should be the standard. We know that this track is used a lot and always clean, this makes a big difference in terms of feeling. In FP1 we lapped in 1'31"7 and not in many tracks you can be that fast right away."
