The press conference held after the Qatar Grand Prix motorcycle, on the Losail circuit, brought together Francis Bagnaia, Brad Binder et George Martin to answer various questions from journalists.
The Ducati official had a difficult Friday, a completely decent Saturday and a dominating Sunday. “As usual” some will say, who will also note that the reigning double MotoGP world champion appears quite calm this year…
As usual, we report his words here without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English.
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the post-race press conference, following a thrilling Qatar Airways Qatar Grand Prix that will kick off 2024, with three extraordinary Grands Prix to celebrate the anniversary of our 75th season. First Grand Prix podium in MotoGP is led by World Champion, Ducati Lenovo Team rider Pecco Bagnaia, a great start to the season for Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Brad Binder after his second place in the Sprint, Brad second in the 21-lap Grand Prix this evening, and it's also a very good weekend for Prima Pramac Racing Jorge Martin. He broke the lap record from pole position last night, took his tenth victory in the Tissot Sprint and finished third in the Grand Prix.
Pecco, we'll start with you. Congratulations ! Incredible work, incredible driving, good start, aggressive overtaking from the start on Jorge Martin; Was this the perfect way for you to start Sundays in 2024?
Francis Bagnaia : " Absolutely ! After yesterday, it was very important to change strategy a little in the first laps. I just tried to be more aggressive and I knew that if I was already leading in the first laps, my potential and performance was good enough to manage a gap, for sure. Yesterday's Sprint was a good lesson in changing the approach a bit on how to get performance with the new bike, and it's working, so I'm very happy. I have to thank my team who, from last night until this morning, worked a lot to improve the settings for the race, and it worked, which overall makes it a perfect start to the season. »
Pecco, yesterday you said you had some vibration in the rear and that you had a heat problem with the rear tire. Were you able to resolve these issues for today's race? And was that the key that allowed you to attack from the start?
“I just rode a different way. I found the performance in a different way and it works for the vibrations. Today I only had a small problem in the last two laps, in just one corner, so I worked well. Maybe in Portimao we won't have this kind of problem because Portimao is a circuit where the grip is completely different and we will see. But in any case, I think we know perfectly well which direction to go in case of vibration. »
Pecco, I think other than your fastest lap, almost every other lap was under 0,3 seconds. How do you manage to be so consistent with these two guys behind you breathing down your neck?
“Because the potential was to go faster. The bike was capable of doing 52.1 or 52.2, but it wasn't useful because a lap like this can ruin everything. Every time I saw that Brad gained two or three tenths, I did another lap, dropping by 2 or 3/10 to widen the gap a little more. So I was trying to manage the rear tire perfectly, the entry into the corners, because that way it was easier to control the gap, and it was perfect. »
Yesterday we talked with a lot of you about tire wear, tire problems, and I guess going into this race you didn't know what was going to happen. You obviously used your data from yesterday to get a better bike, but what was your strategy for this race?
“For me it was about attacking in the first lap to try to be in front, and then to control. Yesterday when I was behind I did two laps in 52.0, 52.1 and after those two laps I started having problems with the rear tire. So we had to be calmer at the back, try to be gentler with everything, and that's something we understood yesterday thanks to the sprint. And this is not the first time that we have had a similar pace to that of the Sprint, but without having tire problems. So that's something we have to think about for the next races. »
It's the first time you've won the first GP of the year in the MotoGP category, for your 19th victory or something like that, I think. How important is this win for your confidence, especially after a fantastic pre-season and building up so well this year?
“Of course it's very important for the championship points, but it wasn't super fundamental, because I think the championship is very, very, very long. We still have 40 races to go, and sometimes to win you take a little too much risk. So that was important for the motivation to get to the next race, but the most important thing is that we were able to understand the new bike better with used tires. Indeed, during the tests in Malaysia and here, the level of grip was very, very high, and it was difficult to have a drop in the tires after 20 laps on used tires. So it was the first time we had this kind of feeling and it was important to understand it. So the biggest thing was that, winning is always fantastic, it's always important, but I'm happier that we have a better understanding of how to get performance out of the tire. »
What do you think of Marc Marquez's performance in his Ducati debut and given how it's going, do you think he's a title contender or not?
“He did a good job, that’s for sure. He finished fourth and he's eight-time world champion Marc Marquez, so I expected to see him competitive. I don't know about the championship, but he will definitely be one of the opponents. Let's see what happens. »
Results of the Qatar Grand Prix at the Losail circuit:
Credit rankings: MotoGP.com
