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“I'm 60% satisfied,” Pecco Bagnaia said after the first Sprint in Thailand. He took home the third place vronze, but he just can’t figure out whether to see the glass half full or half empty. The two Marquez brothers were faster than he was, as he admitted, but the main point is that, in the short race, he's (almost) never able to express himself at his best.
“It’s always somewhat the same. In the Sprint, I always have difficulty doing what I can do in the long races," Bagnaia explained. "The reason is a technical aspect. We use a different tank, smaller, and the bike has a different balance. We're trying to find a solution, but it’s not easy. Epsecially in the first laps, I struggle to push in the same way if I’m not in front of everyone. When I follow someone, I can’t brake hard to insert the bike quickly into the corner, and I lose until I get to within a second of the person ahead of me, then I stay there.”
Like today.
“It was tough because, even though I chose the hard, I wore out the front tire very early. I don’t know why. We have to analyze the situation but, in the meantime, I got on the podium today despite not being in a very comfortable situation. We know that tomorrow I'll do better.”
If you could go back, would you make a different choice?
“I wouldn’t have chosen the hard. The point is that the two of them were faster than me. They started better, then the gap remained the same. I lacked the initial momentum, and I didn’t expect the hard tire to drop, I felt a lot of movement in the right-hand corners. I have to analyze the data. We'll try to solve these problems for tomorrow, otherwise, I'll use the soft.”
Were you satisfied?
“In a situation like today, you have to get to the end. Last year was useful in making me understand that I shouldn’t overdo it.”
Did you imagine a start to the championship like this?
“I expected it because Marc was very fast here last year, but I fell in the race and, in the Sprint, he started from behind. This isn't a track where I feel extremely good, so I thought I'd struggle a bit, even though we've always gotten resultshere. In 2024, I won in the wet. Let's see tomorrow. We'll have to be ready.”
No surprises, then?
“Ogura impressed me. His performance is incredible.”
And the heat?
“I remember the Friday of the Indian GP. Iit was worse there. Here, the bike is hot, you feel the heat on your arms, but it's like this for everyone, and we're trained. Of course, starting the championship with these temperatures is a very intense test.”
Photo © Pier Luca Brunetti
