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Third, as in all Sprints in this early part of the season, except in Qatar. Once again Pecco Bagnaia was forced to swallow a bitter pill, having to settle for the result in Saturday's race.
Right from the start the rider from Piedmont realized that he had no arrows in his bow against Marc so as a result tried to limit the damage, finishing behind the Marquez brothers.
"Unfortunately, this is the story," he began, "in the Sprints I don't have confidence let alone the ability to attack. This is my classic Sprint, because if I don't start in front this is the result and I think it's the same for everyone, which is Marc first, Alex second and me third while Franco is fourth. Unfortunately you can't do any better, because if you get close to the rider in front you risk a lot, the front closes in on you everywhere and it's strange, since only in the Sprint I have these feelings."
Unfortunately, there was also Quartararo's mistake....
"Without Fabio's crash I would have finished fourth. As I said, it's the same old story for the past three seasons. Marc gained a second on Alex and so did he with me as well as me on Franco. There is that to understand, although we are aware that Sunday's race will be different."
What do you expect?
"Tomorrow will definitely be different as always: I will start better, be more aggressive and be ahead. Then in the race we will see what happens. For sure in the long races I know I have more potential and margin. Hopefully Monday's testing will help us."
How big is your disappointment?
"If you look at my Sprint it's always the same old story. The front end closes in on me all the time and I'm angry about that. Obviously the Ducati is the better bike, but these are my feelings. I honestly don't know why, but on Sunday everything is different. On Saturday by the way I complain of continuous wheelie while on Sunday I don't."
Do you think it is also due to tire management and as a result the race pace?
"Maybe because we can't push like we did on Saturday. I honestly don't know how to solve the Sprint problem. If I start first I know I can do what I want, but if I start behind it's different."
All that's left at this point is to be first on the grid.
"If I could start better, that would be different, but that's not the solution. I have to try to be more competitive for the Sprint anyway, because by doing the exact same things in the previous rounds, unfortunately they don't repeat themselves in the Saturday afternoon race. So we will try to figure out what to do."
Perhaps it depends on the fuel tank? Did you not declare on Thursday that there would be something new coming for the weekend?
"Maybe... The plan though was to try it in testing, not in the race."
Apparently there was a problem with the tire pressure, can you confirm that?
"More than the pressure it's the temperature, but that's normal because of the conditions you find. On Saturday you try to have more margin so you can figure out how to behave then on Sunday."
What do you think about the penalty given to the Marquez brothers?
"The wrong thing is that it was me who noticed it, since it should be the race direction's job. Honestly, I don't know what the rule is: if they give a 2,000 euro fine and then only take a lap off one of the two, you can see that in the end it's fair."
Was today's race much faster than a year ago?
"Last year the track was more difficult, plus everyone crashed and Martin won by 8 seconds."
How do you explain the crash in the morning free practice?
"I know very well the reason for the crash. I was pushing on the first lap, the temperature conditions were cool while the tire was very hot and I ended up on the ground."
credit: Pier Luca Brunetti
