Today’s 2-1 win for Ducati is historic, something that hasn’t been seen since the Brno GP in 2018 and, as if that wasn’t enough, Bagnaia made it into first place in the championship too. The Piedmontese is still missing a victory in MotoGP, but he has climbed to the top of the rankings with podium places and that is something very special for him.
“It’s a better second place than the one in Portimao,” said Pecco. “I rode the same motorcycle as in Qatar and it went very well, while we had to work a lot here in Jerez. Today I had incredible feelings on the bike, but maybe I was a little too calm on the first few laps. Up front they kept a pace that was pretty much at the limit and I preferred to leave a little margin so as not to wear out the tires. Then after a few laps I started pushing. “
Couldn’t you have won?
“I would have liked to, but today was obviously Jack’s day and he deserved this win. I tried to follow him, but when I was still 2 laps to go, I was really at the limit with the front tire, I had to slow down and risk as little as possible. But it’s nice to have done a 1-2, which is motivating, if all the races went like this, I would be happy. We have to stay focused, it was a tough track for Ducati, the next ones will be better for us. “
Did you expect to lead the championship after 4 races?
“In the winter I worked a lot, both on my body and my mentality, but I didn’t expect to start so well, I wanted to get into the top five.”
How is the feeling
“Of course I’m happy, but it just happened and it will be some time before I realize that I’m the leader of the table. We’re only at the beginning, there are 16 races left, and when I think about the championship, I slow down. We were lucky today too, because if Quartararo hadn’t had any problems, he would have won, he dominated the weekend. It is also true that you also have to be lucky to win the title.
Do you feel ready to fight for this championship until the end?
“As I said, I’ve been working on staying more focused, my goal is to be as consistent as possible. If I had been in today’s situation last year I might have crashed, so I took a step forward. Now there will be tracks that are better for us and I have to think race after race and work to improve the bike. At the moment I can’t concentrate on the championship, just think about having fun ”.
Are you celebrating with Miller tonight?
“I already know that a very difficult dinner with Jack will be waiting for me! I remember 2019, in Australia, after his podium, when he was angry all evening because I didn’t drink tequila (laughs) ”.