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On the strength of the victory achieved just under two weeks ago in the GP of the Americas, Francesco Bagnaia arrives with newfound confidence and optimism at the Lusail track. A track historically favorable to Ducati and the rider from Piedmont, winner of the last edition of the night race. So it can only be an repeat performance the goal of Pecco, ready to take to the track to confirm himself on the podium and try to close the gap of 12 points that separates him from the current leader of the standings, Alex Marquez.
"I feel good ahead of this weekend, I like the track and its layout and we have always been competitive here, but we will see. We will have to keep working as we have done since the beginning of the season," said Pecco, talking about his expectations for the weekend. "In Austin we did a great job and a good step forward, but the work is not over yet: we have to continue in this direction. I know I won because of Marc's crash. It was obvious that he was gaining tenths with every lap, he was pushing hard, and I knew my potential was second place. Then when he crashed, the only goal was to do the maximum, which was to win the race. It was nice to get this kind of performance in Austin, which has always been a difficult race for me. This is a better track for me and it will be important to start well and just try to improve."
It must not have been easy for the factory Ducati rider to have to settle for a finish on the bottom step of the podium, or just behind, in the first few rounds of the season.
"I always try to do my best, and in those situations the best was to do 3rd in Thailand and 4th in Argentina. The part that was a little bit trickier was trying to do something that you can't do, or that you've always done and it doesn't come to you, but we worked a lot to try to be more competitive and at Austin, which is a track where I've never been too competitive, I was very fast in the race despite the somewhat peculiar conditions. More than the victory, what made me most happy was the step forward we made. Because the victory, as I said, came because of Marc's crash," he noted.
The situation might have been a little different with the usual start to the season in Qatar.
"The thing is that when a circuit comes easier to you you are able to work in a certain way, while if the track is not the most favorable, you struggle to adapt first to the circuit and then to the bike," Bagnaia commented, "This is a track with a lot of flowing corners, which you have to deal with by carrying a lot of speed. This definitely comes easier to me than on a track like Austin, where some sectors put me in more difficulty than riders who have other characteristics. If we had started on this circuit, but also on others in the World Championship, it would have been different because I would have adapted to the situation sooner."
With a start uphill, however, the 28-year-old seems to have returned to the level of competitiveness that would allow him to fight for success with the two Marquez brothers.
"I think this is a track more suited to me and all we have to do is keep working to take another step forward in braking and corner entry. Yesterday the track was very dirty, but we know it will improve session after session and the tires brought here by Michelin are very good and maybe this year we can also use a little more soft. All the riders will be competitive here. Marc was already last year and I expect that he and Alex will be two contenders for victory. Then we will see what happens during the weekend," commented Pecco, before analyzing the form factor on the track in Lusail.
"I think this weekend the situation is quite clear: we will start as we did in the first three race weekends, with Marc having a great feeling with the bike. I think the track will improve round by round and that this is a circuit more suited to my riding style. So, I will be able to be more competitive and fight, because Marc will be very competitive here, although it may not be one of his favorite tracks. Alex will also be very competitive, and the important thing will be to work as we have been doing since the beginning and make more progress," he underlined, "I think Martin should not put pressure on himself, because he has only done a few laps on a MotoGP bike and he has already suffered three bad crashes: one in training and two in Malaysia. He won't have to be in a hurry, but he will just have to think about adapting, understanding, and trying to enjoy himself. Although it will not be easy for him to enjoy his first weekend, because the MotoGP bike is a beast and in his condition he might struggle a bit. However, he has time to improve over the weekend and in the upcoming races."
Returning to talk about the GP of the Americas, the Ducati rider spoke about the risk of incurring a Ride Through for leaving the grid before the start: "Seeing Marc or Alex leave the grid was the best scenario for me, because I would have been the only one not to take the Ride Through in case they applied the rules, because I had done the sighting lap with slick tires. So, I would have started from the back and then done my race. I would have been in a better situation than they were, but then there was all the chaos and they decided to delay the start, which was the best decision. Considering that the track was maybe not ready to use slicks already."
Bagnaia then concluded the press conference by talking about his new video series "GoFree."
"For me it's pretty easy, because I don't have to do anything: there are close friends of mine, with whom I just founded a company, who follow me. Their presence doesn't bother me, and I think this is a time when it's good to share more with the audience. It is a different way of sharing, because I try to be more open than I was before. The first episode was appreciated and all the comments were positive," he said, " Why did I decide to put myself out there? The desire to give something more to people. The episodes won't all be the same and we won't just show the race weekend, but it will be more of an all-around impression. In my opinion it was something that was missing and I think, and hope, that it can work very well and maybe in the future we can do the same with other riders or in other environments."
