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MotoGP, Bagnaia: "Marc Marquez is a stimulus, I want to learn from him and beat him"

"The goal is to put the number 1 back on the fairing. Dall'Igna told me: it's easier to learn not to crash than to learn to win. Last year I would have been champion if I had been able to wait."

MotoGP: Bagnaia:

For the first time in two years, on Bagnaia's Ducati there is no longer the number 1 on the fairing but the #63 is back. Pecco didn't just need to win 11 GPs last year to reconfirm himself as champion and has had a couple of months to reflect on what he missed. That's not the only change, because by his side is now Marc Marquez: same bike, same colors for a rivalry that promises to be fiery. Now it's time to get going again.

"I certainly had a good winter with the honeymoon and had a lot of time to reflect and think," Pecco says, "It was nice to be alone with my wife and relax, but without leaving anything to chance. I trained anyway, I am lucky to have Domizia by my side who knows how to help me in certain moments. Once I got back home, I started 100% again with training and I feel ready to start. The championship always starts earlier, there are always more commitments, so you have to try to find time to train."

What does it change from a mental point of view to no longer be the reigning world champion?
"Honestly it's not that different because the goal is always to win, what changes is not having the number 1 on the fairing, but I want to put it back on. Next year I want to race with that number. Considering what happened last season, finding myself racing with the #63 gave me a lot to think about because I showed I was the strongest but it wasn't enough, so we still have to improve."

Valentino Rossi said you will have to give that 5 percent that you missed, what did he mean?
"It is something symbolic. Last year I won 11 GPs, if I had won 10 and ended up on the ground one less time it would have been enough to become champion. In the end it is not something to be found in pure performance, that is not my problem, but in something else. Gigi Dall'Igna told me a great truth, that it is much easier to learn not to crash than to learn to win."

How do you do it?
"I spent hours analyzing and reviewing many times my mistakes, the worst races. First, I always wanted to get as far ahead as I could, but I realized that sometimes it's better to wait. I didn't always crash through my own fault, but it's also true that in more than one situation I wouldn't have ended up on the ground waiting and with those points I could have won the title. I have to improve, although sometimes I crashed when I was calm, like Barcelona and in Malaysia. We also have to improve as a team at some junctures, nothing in particular, it's just a matter of doing our job normally without putting pressure on ourselves."

Speaking of the team, you and Marquez are already called the dream team.
"We'll see, we'll find out later. Right now we are working together to get to know each other and arrive at the first test with clear ideas. The new bike will definitely be better than the prototype we tried in the Barcelona tests."

Is having Marquez by your side mostly motivation?
"I find motivation in anything. Marc's arrival is a change like when Bastianini arrived, the difference is that Marc has won 8 titles and is definitely a great example from a sporting point of view. I will try to beat him, but also to learn from him."

You will not change your attitude?
"I will not change my approach because Marc is there, I want to beat everyone because I want to become world champion. I just have to improve and continue with my consistency in terms of work."

Goggia and Brignone, in skiing, don't like each other but they push each other hard. Is that a good example?
"I have never had a problem with any other racer and I don't think I ever will. I know how crucial it is to work together and, especially at this stage of the championship, to join forces to achieve the best technical situation. We are doing this and we will continue like this, it is always good to have a strong teammate, I will try to beat him because for me it is a stimulus."

Do you expect mind games?
"They don't work with me."

Who is the teammate who has allowed you to grow?
"I had many and I remember many episodes. The first time was in Moto3, when improving thanks to Jorge Martin following him in the wet. In MotoGP I say Miller, together we did a great job to build the best atmosphere in the box and create what Ducati is now. Marc is new, however I already tried last year to learn from him how to be faster in the left turns and I will continue to do that. A champion like him is a motivation, not only did he win 8 titles but he managed to do it even when I didn't have the best bike. I will try to be as competitive as he is when the situation is not ideal."

Marquez says he is not aiming for the title.
"He also knows very well that when you wear the red leathers you have to fight for the title. It's always difficult to name names before the season starts, but from what I saw last year and the bike he has, Marc will be the toughest rival. I think he will be the main opponent, if I imagine now how the championship will go I think of me and him for the win, then someone else."

You and Marquez like Leclerc and Hamilton: can that be a comparison?
"In MotoGP the human aspect matters even more and last year Leclerc and Sainz did a good job, but Ferrari was not yet at the level of the best. We sorted the situation out first, since 2017 we have had a bike capable of winning and Ducati has won the last 3 titles. It's hard to make a comparison, the similar aspect is that when you race with the Rossa, whether in motorcycles or cars, you know you are doing it with excellence."

Who will be able to get in Ducati's way?
"With one less team, it will be more difficult for Ducati to repeat last year's results, often monopolizing the podium. KTM has very competitive riders, especially Acosta, but we will have to see their situation. Aprilia has the world champion and Bezzecchi, two riders with a lot of desire. Hard to know what the Japanese will do, but Yamaha made a good step forward already at the end of last year and I think it is difficult for Honda to continue like this, I expect an improvement."

 

Translated by Julian Thomas

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