Pecco Bagnaia never seems to have easy days. On Friday in Austin, he secured a spot in the Q2 with the 8th-fastest time, but he only managed to do so in the final minutes of pre-qualifying, after scrapping his first attempt with a new soft tire.
“A little panic? A lot! If I had been outside the top ten today, I would’ve caused a huge mess, a disaster in the pit,” Pecco said jokingly, after narrowly avoiding a disaster.
In fact, this time it looked as if everything was going to go smoothly. In the morning, he was outside the Top 10, but only because he hadn’t changed tires at the end of the session. In the afternoon, he was in first place for a long time, even though he insisted on using the medium tire on the rear, when most of the other riders had switched to the soft.
“All day long, in both sessions, I was competitive with the worn tires, even more so in the afternoon,” the rider from Piedmont confrimed. “The conditions were pretty tricky because of the wind and high temperatures, but I managed to be consistent and fast.”
Improving his flying lap should've been a formality.
“Finishing in the top three today was possible, but, during the time attack, we had a small issue that cost me my first attempt. I couldn’t push as hard as I wanted,” Pecco explained. “Then, on the second one, I just tried to complete a lap without taking any risks. That small issue affected my riding a bit, but these things can happen, and everything will be fine for tomorrow.”
Despite this minor setback, the risk was averted, and the overall result was positive.
“I’m happy with how I feel and with the bike,” he assures us. “But tomorrow we’ll need to take another step forward tomorrow.”
However, you still have to see if the specter of those difficulties that characterized the races in Thailand and Brazil will return when it counts. Are the feelings in Austin better?
“Hard to say,” Bagnaia said, cautiously. “In Goiânia, everything was going well, but then I struggled a lot in the race. So far, I’ve felt good, but I’m keeping my feet on the ground, and we’ll see if I can have a good qualifying session tomorrow.”