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All victories are not equal and Bagnaia's today in Jerez (his third consecutive in the Spanish GP) is special. Twenty-five laps of passion in which the world champion made it clear why the number 1 is on his fairing. From the double overtaking on the outside on Martin and Bezzecchi on the first lap, to the fight with Marquez, to the fastest lap at the end, everything was perfect. A sample of his strengths rolled out on the asphalt of the Andalusian circuit, in front of almost 145 thousand people. "My most beautiful victory? It's definitely among the top 3, I couldn't say which is the best - Pecco smiles - I fought: on the first lap, but also with Marc and then in the end. It was a well sculpted victory. "
The duel with Marquez was exhilarating.
"It was an intense battle. When we touched, Marc was good at getting the bike up a little bit because in those cases one of us can end up on the ground, if not both of us. The next lap he tried again and I answered him again, then I was able to get a little bit of a lead."
When Marquez is involved, the show is always guaranteed....
"You have to play like that, it's the only way to stay in front, otherwise you always pull back and everything becomes more complicated. When you fight against Marquez you have to put your elbows up. The fight was hard, but done the right way. Overall, I am extremely happy with the result because it was a show of strength."
Was it a fight within the limits?
"It was not contact like Portimao or yesterday, sometimes you can have contact because with these bikes it is difficult to have normal contact. Between Marc and me, however, there is respect and that makes the fights spectacular and fun."
In 2021, at Aragon, you won your first MotoGP race against him.
"This time I had some margin on the last lap, whereas that time we were much closer."
How important was it to be able to win after such a complicated moment?
"I needed it and the team needed it. Two difficult races in a row were not easy, you start asking yourself a lot of questions, but we managed to find a solution. We worked extremely well here to find better feeling and tomorrow in testing we will finish the work. I know Cristian (Gabarrini, his chief technician, ed.) was also very happy because we are a very united team and winning like this gives us a good rush."
Where did you enjoy the most?
"The overtaking on the outside was nice, but also the fight with Marc and the fast lap, done by force, in the last laps. It was all good."
Was the first lap the key point?
"By now the start and the first lap make up 60 percent of the race, and even yesterday, in the Sprint, I tried to do the same move in Turn 6, but the asphalt was a bit wet. Today, however, it was dry and I succeeded. In the race it was important not to force too much under braking because the front feeling was not ideal, the tire was moving a lot. It was a long race, but I managed it perfectly, keeping some margin for the last laps."
You can't wait to win?
"When you can stay in front you do, so you avoid problems with temperature and tire pressure. On the last corner of the first lap Marc made a mistake and I passed him, but then I made the same mistake on the next lap. When I got behind Martin, the front tire pressure went up and I couldn't make my usual lines. As soon as he crashed, both my feeling and my times improved. When you follow someone, even if you are faster than him, you can't always do what you want."
Was Martin overdoing it?
"At that point I was braking hard and Jorge on that lap had gained a few meters on the braking, but it's hard to understand what happened. At that point the asphalt is a bit strange."
You didn't think for a moment about settling for the result with Martin out of the picture?
"It's too early to think about such things, and then, as I said, without Jorge in front my feeling improved. I'm not the type to think about settling for the result and giving up."
From 42 points you've reduced the gap to 17 from Martin.
"The championship is really long and right now looking at points doesn't help much. You have to work as we did this weekend, find the best possible feeling and then do the races as we know how. When I feel good, I always fight for the podium and that's the most important thing."
