Ducati official Pecco Bagnaia will perhaps be at the crossroads on the evening of a Grand of Portugal which will be played this weekend. Last year, in fact, he had visited the Algarve twice and if he had finished second in the first getaway on the calendar still established to respond to the throes of the health crisis, he then won the prize, in this which was the penultimate confrontation of the MotoGP season. The Italian was then in a prosperous period which seems very far away today…
Pecco Bagnaia appeared on the podium during the two visits of the MotoGP in Portugal in 2021. A subscription that he would like to see confirmed which would bring comfort to the heart of a Ducati official who no longer knows the success displayed a few months ago. It was November and a time when he and his Ducati GP21 were at their best, collecting four wins and five pole positions in the final six Grands Prix of the season. Today, he only has 23 points after four contested races. Two fifth places in Argentina and Texas are the best performances of the season so far for the vice-world champion, who as twelfth in the provisional general classification is already 38 points behind the leader Enea Bastianini who rides with the GP21…
Pecco Bagnaia: “ it will be a good test to see the comparison between the two bikes in Portimão«
Because the subject in the head of Pecco Bagnaia is indeed this GP22 with which he has not yet found the complicity that he had established with the previous version of the Desmosedici. A subject that turns into a personal matter since Austin, the last consummate meeting on the calendar, since the Italian recognizes that he did less well in Texas than his teammate Jack Miller who finished on the podium of the Grand Prix of the Americas: “ we know we still have work to do. I gave my best in Austin, unfortunately I couldn't do better than fifth place. The others were faster and Enea was very strong. Jack was very good too, he finished on the podium with the same bike spec as me ».
Pecco Bagnaia is therefore looking for its path and this Portimao route can be a revelation for the Italian. He thus approaches this fifth deadline of the season: “ it will be a good test to see the comparison between the two bikes in Portimão » he said, even betraying a certain impatience: “ we competed in two races there last year and won at the end of the season. Our pace was very competitive there. It's great that a weekend like Portimão is coming now so we can see where we are with our development. Let's wait for Portimão ". It will be recalled that Pecco Bagnaia can work with peace of mind, his contract with Ducati having been extended until 2024.
