Casey Stoner doesn’t take on the role of “coach” every day, but that’s exactly what happened to Bagnaia and Miller today. The Australian master watched them closely along the route and then helped them with his clues. The two drivers couldn’t have got a better present.
“He gave me some advice after FP1 and it worked in FP2 – said the Australian who finished the day of training with the third fastest time – When a legend like him speaks to you, you listen. We could actually ask Ducati to raise the budget for next year to get him to some more grands prix.
Pecco would also agree …
“I think Jack and I would be willing to cut our salary a little bit to have Casey too – confirmed the Italian – it was nice to have him in the garage, he is the rider who interpreted the Ducati best when it was not an easy motorcycle. It was interesting to hear his point of view, this morning he immediately noticed that Quartararo and I were the fastest and in the afternoon he made interesting comments about the behavior of our bike in the wind. I really appreciated his help, also because it didn’t come from just any other driver ”.
Bagnaia had never met Stoner before, but he carefully tracked his exploits, especially when fighting Rossi.
“I was a fan of Valentino, but Casey was one of the best drivers in history. I hope he stays with us tomorrow ”.
At this moment, every little help is welcome to defeat Quartararo.
“I would like to continue like today: I set the fastest time and Fabio improved it, it was a good fight – said Pecco – I want us to continue like this until Sunday because we’re the two fastest drivers at the moment. He won the last GP in Portimao, I want to beat him ”.
Although the title can no longer be won, the Ducati rider does not seem to lack motivation.
“First of all I’m still fighting for 2nd place in the championship, then I want to win the constructors’ and teams’ titles for Ducati – he emphasized – I know that the drivers’ title is more important, but it is also nice to win the others. It’s also always nice to fight against the strongest driver, now Fabio will drive without pressure, more relaxed, I think we can have fun if we continue like this. “