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Yesterday Bagnaia said he was obliged to win, a diktat he respected in today's Barcelona Sprint race, gracing the day also with a pole position. It would have been a perfect Saturday, except that it might not be enough to reconfirm him as world champion. Martin has 19 points left to manage tomorrow, a lot. Pecco, for the moment, can only be content with having done the best he can. "Mission accomplished and ... nothing," he smiled, "I did the pole position, won the Sprint and achieved the goal of taking the World Championship to tomorrow."
Were you hoping for more riders to come between you and Martin?
"Yes, but in the end I knew that the two of us are at an incredible level. Even if Jorge is struggling or going a little slower, he finishes 2nd or 3rd. It's difficult either way."
You said you also had time in the race to do the math for the championship....
"In the last 3 laps I was studying the championship combinations, I didn't have the need to push as hard and I could manage a lot. I knew Jorge wouldn't take any risks, I could go a little slower and still open a gap. That allowed me to control more things, try some maps. I just hope that tomorrow eight riders will get in between me and him ( laughs)."
Is that a real hope?
"It's a joke, it's impossible. I believe that Jorge, even if he goes slow, will finish on the podium tomorrow. My goal is to repeat what I did today. I prefer to start and go my own pace, I don't think I will do anything to hinder my opponents. I'm definitely not nervous, I hope to start better than today and once I'm in front I know I can get away."
Espargarò since qualifying has put himself at the service of Martin.
"Aleix and Jorge are more than friends, they have an incredible relationship, and then Aprilia will want to have the #1 plate on the bike. I know, tomorrow I expect a race like today. Martin will not take any risks because he has so much margin, all he needs to do is to finish 9th even if I win the race."
Will the pressure be able to play tricks on him?
"I remember perfectly well how I felt in 2022 and I think Jorge is suffering a bit from the pressure, but that's normal. I saw him slightly nervous this weekend, but when he's on the bike he can handle it well, as he did today. I don't think it will be too complicated for him tomorrow."
Was trying to keep the group together not a possible strategy today?
"As I said yesterday, I just want to have fun and win. Recompacting the group would not have made a difference, also because in my opinion no one would have passed Jorge anyway."
Did you take a risk by fitting the hard front tire?
"With the medium this morning I was in trouble, even in qualifying. I saw that the two Hondas mounted the hard, I thought it was better and then I asked Luca. It was the right choice."
Thinking back to the lost points what was the biggest mistake?
"The one at Silverstone, where I crashed after three or four laps because I was pushing too hard and that was the only time this year. That was the biggest mistake. I have eight zeros, but four were not my fault: in Le Mans I had a problem on the bike, while in Jerez, Portimao and Aragon I was knocked to the ground. The stupidest mistake was here in the last lap of the Barcelona Sprint in May, but the one in Misano was also bad. In Malaysia I crashed because I didn't push on the front, if you look at the data you think I went down on the previous lap, not that one."
Last night you celebrated Bastianini, what did you tell him?
"Enea in my opinion has had a lot of bad luck in this chapter of his career. Last year he had a lot of it, this season he ended up in the media circle with Martin and Marquez and could not enjoy it. In my opinion he is a rider with incredible potential, when he can get everything going in the right direction he is clearly one of the strongest, it was a shame not to have him at his peak. As I told him yesterday, besides a great rider I met a friend who helped me in several situations."
Did you finish the Lego of the Batmobile?
"Yes. What am I going to do this evening? I'm going to Barceloneta (laughs)."
