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Bagnaia's pre-qualifying round was ruined by his friend, Morbidelli. Marquez, instead, was beaten by his brother Alex. Logically, Marc isn't worried much. His 52 thousandths of a second are nothing, and the important thing is getting off on the right foot. Right now, the Spanish rider of the official Ducati team seems to be the one who has the most arrows in his bow, but he prefers to tread lightly.
"Like in Aragon last year? No. There I was almost six tenths ahead of the second, but the most important thing for me was to start with the same sensations like in the tests, and that's how it was from the start," he said. "Then, in the afternoon, with more heat, it was more complicated, but I understood how to change the set-up of the bike a bit for the time attack, and I felt good, comfortable. I'm second, but my brother is up in front, so I can still happy," he said, with a laugh.
Doesn't it bother you to be beaten by so little?
"It hurts a lot less when Alex is in front. I'd say ninety percent less," he said laughing. "It's Friday, and the important thing is to watch the pace. I think Pecco and I are the ones with the best pace, then there's my brother, and Bezzecchi isn't bad either. We' ll see tomorrow. We need to be in the first two rows to have a good sprint and a good race."
Are you surprised by Bagnaia's thirteenth time?
"If you look at the times, he lapped well in the afternoon. He had a good pace with the used tire. Logically, I'll look at his data to see what he does better than me. He had bad luck with the yellow flags and with Morbidelli. These things happen. I expect him in the front row tomorrow."
You said Alex is close to you.
"I'm happy for him. He's riding great, already in winter. I don't think this will be the last time he beats me this year. He's fast, and I expect him to fight for the podium and, why not, maybe some wins."
You're riding the same bike?
"From what I understand, but Tardozzi and Dall'Igna may be able to answer that better. Right now, we're all riding the same bike. Of course, the factory team will introduce some new things during the course of the season but, for these first races, all the Desmosedici are very, very similar."
Was there anyone or anything that surprised you today?
"I didn't have any particular surprises. My brother was in the tests, but now he isn't. There are three Aprilias in the top ten. That means the rivals are working and getting closer, so we have to keep pushing. The most important thing, though, is that Ducati is still up in front."
Is there still work to be done tomorrow?
"We don't have much margin because we've already done two-hundred laps here in the tests. In the morning, we immediately started lapping in the low 1'29", which isn't the normal way you work on a race weekend."
Starting the third season with the Sprint race, how has the weekend changed since its introduction?
"Talking about the condition of the riders, it's more stressful, especially on Saturday. Tomorrow, the schedule is very intense. There's qualifying, sprint, meetings with the press and fans, you have to manage all these things well or you risk being wiped out even before you do the race on Sunday."
