English
Italiano
Pictured opening this piece are two great talents of Italian motorsport. On one side is the MotoGP present, with a Pecco Bagnaia who has been defending the #1 on the fairing of his Ducati for two years, while on the other is Kimi Antonelli, who in 2025 will pick up the legacy of Mister F1 himself, Lewis Hamilton, aboard Mercedes. The image was taken after Pecco took pole in Misano, but his face at the end of the Sprint is quite different.
In fact, Bagnaia saw Jorge Martìn slip by him at the first braking point and from that moment on his Sprint turned into a procession behind his rival, who gained another three points in the overall standings, moving to +26. Tomorrow Pecco will have to guess a perfect start, because the risk that Martìn will run away from him again is real and suffering another defeat in the GP as well could deal a nasty blow to the standings.
"It's a first place lost, I was starting first and I ended up second - were the first words of Pecco who didn't mince his words - I didn't make a good start, I didn't find the right release with the clutch and I lost a bit at that stage, Jorge passed me and from that moment I really tried everything to try to stay close and try to overtake but the front tire didn't allow me to do it. I knew right away that someone was going to pass me right away and it was Jorge. When in Misano you're lapping with a rider who has the same pace as you, it's difficult even if you who are behind are a little bit faster, I even had to give up otherwise maybe I would have crashed. I really tried."
Tomorrow maybe it will be a different music?
"In my opinion tomorrow the values on the track will remain more or less the same, we will probably change the tire behind which I think will go a little bit towards our need. But it's hard to imagine the conditions we'll find tomorrow, it could be cooler, it could be raining, so the important thing will be to figure things out right away and try to be fast right away. With the medium tire maybe I will find more stability and maybe even have the margin to try to overtake in case it becomes necessary."
Are you disappointed?
"I believe so much in myself, this second place after the weekend in Aragon is also good, however, it is not what makes me happy, because I think I could have won it. I expected to have this pace, maybe if I had been able to get in front I would have gone even faster but I couldn't get past Jorge. In any case we were fast."
It will be crucial to get a good start to see another race.
"Yes, it's important to be in front right away. Misano is a very particular track, when you are behind someone who is going as fast as you there are no points where you can get close enough and attack, that's the problem. If I had been first in the first corner, we probably would have had the same race but in reverse. I was faster than Jorge, but passing him was something else."
Did you eventually give up because of the shoulder?
"In the end I had to give up because the front tire couldn't take it anymore, I almost crashed several times, at least in three corners. From there I gave up in the last two laps, the pressure was rising, the temperature was rising and it also became dangerous. Already after three laps it was over the limit actually. I felt continuous locking, I think the temperature was too high, not so much the pressure."
So the shoulder is not a limitation?
"Actually when I'm riding I only feel some pain, but I can do more or less what I want, I can push. I think the painkillers do their dirty work, and I think tomorrow maybe I'll have to take something stronger as well."
At least you got on the podium with your friend Morbidelli, a surprise for you?
"The problem is that Franco is always underestimated, but in reality he is a world champion runner-up in MotoGP, a champion in Moto2, he has won races and he has always been strong when he was in a position to do well. That to me is the real Franco."
