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After the disaster in yesterday's sprint race, Bagnaia was back to normal. For 18 laps out of the total 20 he was in the lead, only to be overtaken by Aleix Espargarò at the last. Pecco, at Silverstone, lost the battle, but with Bezzecchi down and Martin 6th, his championship lead has increased to 41 points and he should be happy. On his face, however, a shadow is clearly visible.
Not totally happy?
“Not at all, when I am satisfied with a 2nd place instead of a win, it will mean that something is wrong. This is not the time to settle for results, even if in any case I'm happy with my race and now I have the biggest lead in the standings since the start of the championship."
You were always in front, even when it started to rain. Did you ever think about giving way to those who had less to lose than you?
“I just thought about staying in front and pushing to win. I felt Aleix was close, I knew he would try, because I know his potential on this track and the Aprilia's traction, while I was suffering in that area. He was better and he won, I did my best and tried ”.
When, with 8 laps to go, the first drops of water fell, what did you think?
“I was a bit scared because I couldn't figure out what my limit was, I had to check the situation and in the meantime I felt Aleix behind me. I was prepared for an attack from him, I wanted to respond but I couldn't. He deserved this victory ”.
Have you learned anything?
“Oliveira was lapping a second faster than me, which means I didn't push as hard as I could in those conditions. It's something I'll work on to improve."
How did you work to improve your consistency of results?
“It takes time to understand how to do this in MotoGP. In Moto2 the tyres are different, there is virtually only one choice, while everything is different here. In the early years I started to crash, and I'm still doing it today (laughs), then I started to understand how and when to push, because you can't be aggressive with our front tyre. Some riders, like Quartararo, took less time than me, but I worked hard with the team and at home to improve. Now everything is in place and I know I can fight for the top positions in every race, that's my goal".
Did yesterday's setback put pressure on you?
“I don't think I have to demonstrate my potential to anyone, I knew what Ducati and I are capable of doing. In the practice sessions I work for the race to be ahead in the race, not to have any problems, and this gives me confidence. More than anything, after riding only in the wet yesterday, it wasn't easy to immediately find the right sensations in the dry, but trying motivated me. In the end, when you're totally focused, you can leave everything else behind."
What happened yesterday?
“We found out and it was clear in the warm up that everything was fine, but I can't say what had happened (laughs). I'm a bit angry because it was an avoidable problem."
In the first 5 at the finish line there is only one Ducati today, yours. Just a coincidence?
“It's hard to say, it's the first race where I'm the only one up front. It's something we need to analyze, but I fought for the win and that must make us happy. We know that the Aprilia is very fast on this track and that it could have had an advantage, but we did our part. Maybe, if it had been dry yesterday we could have taken another step forward".
Did you see Bezzecchi crash?
“We all started with the soft tyre, it was a limiting choice, but also the only option because the temperatures were low at the start, then they increased. I was having trouble with the front even though I was ahead of everyone, because now, with the minimum tyre pressure rule, it takes you to be a bit on the limit. Marco, as he was behind me, even more and he lost the front. As soon as I started braking he started to close up and then he definitely did it ”.
