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MotoGP, Bagnaia: "Taking Salvadori on the bike with me was the least I could do."

"A small dedication to Luca that is not enough. I was preparing the attack on Martin for a few laps already, today I would not give up until the end at the cost of attacking and going long. If in overtaking I thought about Aragon? With Jorge it would not have happened."

MotoGP: Bagnaia:

Pecco Bagnaia had a huge urge to erase the double second place he picked up in Misano two weeks ago, but when at the lights out of today's Sprint he saw Martìn and Binder beating him off the line, some ghosts must have shown up in his mind. Bagnaia, however, had incredible pace today, and after quickly jumping past Binder, he went after Martìn, with the specific intention of not letting up until the end.

All it took was a tiny error by his rival to find the gap and go through, winning the Sprint and taking himself to -4 from his rival in the overall standings, with the prospect of ending the Misano weekend with the top spot should a similar script to today repeat itself tomorrow.

"My best lap today would have allowed me to start on the second row and that is something incredible - said Pecco - we were pushing so hard after losing the position at the start. I found myself behind Binder, but I had an incredible pace so I closed the gap on Martìn right away and already five or six laps before I started thinking about overtaking. Then I saw him go wide and I thought 'okay, now I'm going in' . As soon as I got in front I had no more problems with the front, it was much easier to control the bike, to turn well. Just in the first lap alone when I was in front, without pushing hard, I improved my first three sectors. I'm super happy, it wasn't easy to lap on this pace but we worked very well and I think tomorrow will be a similar fight with Jorge, but to start like this is perfect."

Tomorrow do you think it will go the same way or do you fear that Bastianini could also get in amongst you?
"Yesterday Jorge and I were very fast with the medium, while Enea was suffering a little bit. But we will see, because he on long races is always very fast in the final part so I would say he will be there."

Did today's cool weather help you in your 'hunt' for Martìn?
"The cooler temperature helps you get closer than those ahead of you, but the problem is still the same. As soon as I was in front I had no more problem with the front tire, so I think we will continue to have this problem as long as we have this tire."

Again it was not a great start.
"In the last two GPs my bike always seems to want to wheelie at the start. We usually remove the anti-wheelie to better control the start, but this time maybe it would have helped. It's not normal to always lose positions like that and here especially it would have been important to be up front right away for front tire pressure. Something we need to improve on a little bit for tomorrow."

Are you now thinking about winning tomorrow as well?
"Tomorrow I think it will be a bit different, but today I wouldn't have accepted second place because I knew I had potential that I couldn't waste. So I knew I had it and I tried hard to stay close to Jorge. But it's always complicated with a rival like him who is so strong. We'll see tomorrow, but already running with the medium that I like a little bit more will help."

Was it a confrontation of nerves or just pure speed?
"Today in my opinion was a pure speed race, we had an incredible pace. When you are so close to the limit you just need a moment to make even a small mistake that costs you the position, though."

At this point in the championship, you just need to win to leave no room for your rival.
"I believe that winning at this moment is everything, because if you do second today it means losing points from Jorge. He thinks the same thing in the opposite way, so you always need to work your hardest. Then from winning to dropping is really little difference, racing like this on the limit without making mistakes is really tough."

Too bad about not doing 1.29 in qualifying!
"Unfortunately I touched the white line at the corner and my front locked up for a moment and at that moment I lost 37 thousandths, unbelievable stuff. You can clearly see from the data, unfortunately they repainted the white lines tonight and it was not a big deal."

Can you explain this Tortellante initiative?
"I think the Tortellante is a fantastic initiative to value people with problems and limitations. It's about making them important, because what comes out of the Tortellante ends up in the kitchens of Michelin-starred chefs, so we're talking about something really important. I knew about this reality but had never found the opportunity to make the most of it. This weekend unfortunately turned out to be more difficult than I would have imagined, a lot of bad things happened. In the end, though, I think doing good is always a good thing."

You are referring to Salvadori, we saw his sticker on your helmet.
"A small dedication to Luca that is not enough. But I think nothing can ever be enough. In any case, being able to take him on the bike with me, for what will be my career, in my opinion is the least I can do."

In two words, what has changed from Misano 1 for you?
"The difference is that physically this time I was at 100 percent and I was never going to give up until the end. Somehow I would have jumped in, even taking risks. Today to finish second, I would not have accepted that. It was crucial to win today and to have succeeded in the Sprint, which is not my field, is a great value. It also shows what the potential is for tomorrow."

When you went in on Martìn, did you think something similar to what happened with Alex Marquez in Aragon might happen?
"With Martìn, no.

How does it make you feel to see how much difference you and Jorge are making right now over everyone else?
"There is a great feeling in knowing that if you give your best you are in front. We've come to a level that feels almost similar to what was happening years ago, when it was always the same guys in front. It took a while to get to this level, but lately it's always like this. This helps us to grow and get better and better. I think right now Jorge and I are making a real difference in both qualifying and the race."

 

Translated by Julian Thomas

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