In 2019, the Pramac Racing team, of which Francesco Guidotti is team manager, finished second in the teams' classification, behind Petronas Yamaha SRT, but ahead of LCR, Aprilia Gresini, Tech 3 and Avintia. Jack Miller finished eighth in the World Championship, 9 points behind Valentino Rossi, and Francis Bagnaia fifteenth. The Australian's best result was third place in Texas, Brno, Aragon, Australia and Valencia. Bagnaia finished at best fourth at Phillip Island, 0.045 behind his teammate Miller.
The Australian ranked second (out of thirteen) among independent drivers with 165 points, behind fabio quartararo (192) and in front Cal Crutchlow (133) Franco Morbidelli et Takaaki Nakagami.
Bagnaia's 2019 season was brilliant in Australia, but very uneven.
“First of all, he missed the experience, and some episodes didn't please him. During testing (preseason, early 2019), it was surprising, he showed his speed immediately, and it gave us confidence even in the most difficult moments of the season. The comparison with another rookie like Quartararo certainly didn't help, but he showed he had the right cards to do well in the future, like for example in the race at Mugello. »
Do you think Jack Miller is ready for the official Ducati team?
“I had a few arguments with Jack in 2018, especially in Misano and Valencia, because he was far from being in good general condition to aspire to the official team. This is perhaps also why it arrived at the beginning of 2019 in better conditions. It definitely helped him to go home for a few weeks, which during the season had some positive effects, so I think he's on the right track. »
His career has been special. How do you evaluate his famous transition from Moto3 to MotoGP?
“I think Jack was one of the few people who was able to make that jump. In terms of riding, he showed from the start that he had some skills, even if the privateer Honda of the time was not optimal: I would like to challenge 100 other drivers to refuse a three-year contract from Honda with a certain number on the check. »
Let's imagine that at the end of 2020, one of your two drivers is part of the official team. Could Zarco be an option for 2021?
“Zarco told us no twice. The first time we were at Indianapolis, he was doing well in Moto2 and said he wanted to focus on this goal in this category. He was reigning champion the following year and I returned to the attack, but our technical discussion gave rise to very different points of view: my feeling was that he wanted to go to a French team at all costs. »
And Iannone instead?
“I would take it back right away. Andrea is someone who is impossible not to like if you know him, and he has an exceptional talent for driving. When he came to us, the bike was difficult to ride, but he sold it for a lot of money: I would take it back much more willingly than go back and talk to Zarco (laughs). »
Paolo Ciabatti speculated that the 2020 bikes will also be used in 2021, and that the riders' salaries will be significantly reduced.
“It is certain that 2021 will be doubly tied to 2020, also from a technical point of view, given the situation. It is obvious that you will have to manage costs in relation to the current situation, and therefore the pilots will also have to adapt from an economic point of view. »
Could the driver market be massively slowed down by this situation?
« De nombreux journalistes se sont plaints de l’accélération du marché, et je pense que de nombreuses décisions devront être reportées en raison de la situation. Márquez, Viñales et Quartararo ont joué leur joker en renouvelant “à plein tarif “, tandis que les autres devront s’adapter. »
On a psychological level, could some pilots suffer from this forced stop?
“This is a situation that has never happened before, and the first difficulty is having to train without a defined time limit. In sport, the ability to manage new situations is part of the athlete's training: pilots are used to managing situations at 300 miles an hour in a fraction of a second, but now everyone will have to draw on themselves to find new energy, and certainly as soon as they return to the track they will give 110%. »
Here is the original of the interview carried out by GPOne, to which we thank:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6A6A2TZTmE
Source: GPOne.com
Photos © Pramac
