This Sunday, September 12, 2021, Pecco Bagnaia answered questions from journalists from the Motorland Aragón circuit, at the end of the MotoGP Aragón Grand Prix.
We went to listen (via teleconferencing software) to the words of the Italian rider, who after several disappointments finally managed to snatch his first victory in MotoGP after an epic duel against Marc Márquez.
As usual, we report here the words of Pecco Bagnaia without the slightest formatting.
Pecco, you finally managed to take your first victory after enduring pressure from Marc Márquez for almost the entire race. We imagine it’s a special day for you…
" It is It's clear that it wasn't easy, and to be honest, with these conditions even warmer than during the rest of the weekend, I didn't imagine such a racing pace. But when I started I knew that I had a good pace and that only Marc could possibly beat me on this terrain. game. "
" At At the beginning I managed to widen the gap and I continued to attack and I think in the end we had an incredible pace. I think that Marc especially tried to pass me in the last portion of the circuit, because before this it was not of much interest [Bagnaia being able to take advantage of the extra power of his Ducati to almost instantly regain the advantage over the Spanish]. »
" I I actually realized that he was trying to overtake me in places where I was strong coming out of the corner. During the last part of the race I was starting to lack grip but I still managed to unwind. On the last lap, when I saw him braking hard in turn 12 to try to overtake me I was sure he was going to go wide, and afterwards I simply tried to stay on the cleanest lines to go and snatch victory. »
" I I have to say that I didn't expect to be so strong on this track because last year I encountered a lot of difficulties here, and from FP1 onwards I stopped touching the bike because everything was perfect. I'm really happy with this victory today. »
“From FP1 I stopped touching the bike because everything was perfect”
This victory is a weight off your shoulders, as you have been very close to winning several times in the past. What are your emotions as you finally reach your goal?
" I thinks that each pilot needs more or less time. I encountered quite a few difficulties during the first year, if you put aside Phillip Island [in 2019]. Then my second season started pretty well, but sometimes I wasn't very fast. »
" This season finally, I was fast most of the time but without having the opportunity to go for victory, because in Portimão due to the yellow flags during qualifying I perhaps lost the opportunity to impose on me. At Mugello, I crashed at the start of the race and it was my fault. »
" It So I had always been missing something until now, but this weekend we worked perfectly. It will also be difficult to reproduce a weekend like this, because you shouldn't even touch the bike at the limit! I will still try to win again in the next round, in Misano, on a circuit that I like. But what is certain is that after two seasons in MotoGP, winning a first victory for the factory team like this is a great emotion for me. »
What was your first feeling when you saw the checkered flag and knew victory was yours?
" The The first thing that came to my mind was that it was finally over. It was a really long race, especially because of the very hot conditions, and the tires were degrading more than usual. But I think that all the times where victory slipped through my fingers allowed me to find a second wind to win this race. »
“All the missed opportunities so far have allowed me to find a second wind”
Do you think that the psychological aspect played a role in Fabio Quartararo's poor performance today, and that such a result could happen again during the next round in Misano, especially if there is rain? ?
" I try just to stay focused on myself, and spend as much time as possible at the front every weekend. I don't want to think about Fabio. I'm 53 points behind, and all I can do is try to finish ahead of him. 53 points is a lot, and it's not going to be easy to put it all together. But our desire to win is very great, and this victory gives me extra motivation for the next races. »
How did you support Marc's pressure? We noticed that when he started to have attacks, paradoxically your heart rate tended to…drop!
" I think I was in the best possible position, because when you are fighting on a track like this where the grip level is not very high at the end of the course, then it is easier to defend yourself, to the simple and good reason that each maneuver is riskier for the attacker in the sense that he can more easily go wide. »
" I had the conviction that Marc was indeed going to try to overtake me in the last part of the race, because in the first part it was simply useless due in particular to the slipstream. But when he started to attack I knew that I was very strong on the brakes and that it wouldn't be easy for him to pass me. »
"When he was trying to pass me, he was always going wide, because in fact the rear tire was not helping at all to slow down the bike. So I was in the best possible position to defend myself, and I think if it had been me who had been behind, I would have had just as many problems overtaking. »
What advice did Christian Gabarini [Pecco Bagnaia's track engineer] give you before the race?
" It always tells me the same thing: Pay attention to the brakes and the fuel, and each time I tell him that I know what I have to do. »
After qualifying, heavy tire wear was expected at the end of the race. Was this degradation so spectacular?
" On certain tracks it is more difficult to be regular when this degradation is felt. But on this one I have to say that it went better for us, and for the whole field in general, because as soon as we got the bike up, the grip was still there. We had a type of tire that was pretty easy to control. »
Valentino Rossi said yesterday that it was your day to win. How important were these words to you as you entered the arena?
" I I have to say that at first it made me even more nervous! But afterwards I was rather calm during the afternoon and evening, because I was convinced that my pace was good, that we had worked well, and that we had a real chance of winning. I certainly thought that Marc was the rider with the best pace, but I also knew that our own pace was good enough to stay with him. »
“I was convinced that we had a chance to win”
Márquez said that today's duel was like one of the ones he had against Dovizioso, with the difference that today you had much more speed in the corners. It is true that on the screens it reminded us of the classic battles between Honda and Ducati. Is this what you felt as well?
" I I've never had a duel with a Honda in the past, so I can't make a comparison! All I can say is that our bike is very strong when braking, while the Honda is very strong when entering corners. Today I was a little at the limit with the front of my machine. The only thing I had in mind was not to leave him even one corner in front of me, because with these worn tires it was much more difficult to overtake. »
It seems like you haven't made a single mistake the entire race, like a robot. What was the mental process to achieve such regularity?
" I think I made four mistakes during the race: Two in turn 7, and two in turn 8, all when the grip level started to decrease. They weren't big mistakes, I just went a little wide. During FP4 yesterday I covered 16 laps and I worked a lot on that. We were therefore prepared to move ahead without any reference point in front of us. »
Aragón has never been a truly Ducati-friendly track. How important is beating Márquez here, knowing that conversely it is one of his favorite tracks?
" In 2019 wasn't too bad, and last year it was a disaster here for Ducati, but that was probably linked to the weather conditions which were very cool. I remember having big problems getting the front tire to heat up properly. This year, with the temperatures we had, this track did not pose a problem for us. »
" I have had this battle with Marc, who is always very strong on this track. Winning a race with a good gap to your closest opponent is always something appreciable, but it's even more so after a big battle. I have never won a race this way, because in 2018 when I won the Moto2 title I only remember one duel with Miguel Oliveira, it was in Austria. So this is only the second victory that I obtain after such a struggle. »
This is your first success in MotoGP, but also the 250th for an Italian rider in the category. It's also Ducati's first victory here since Casey Stoner won 11 years ago [in the first ever MotoGP race in Aragón]. So what is the statistic that touches you the most?
"This What touches me the most is clearly that this is my first victory in MotoGP! »
Aragón MotoGP Grand Prix standings:
World Drivers' Championship standings
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
