Pecco Bagnaia and Fabio Quartararo have both spoken to the press ahead of the MotoGP title decider this weekend in Valencia.
The Ducati and Yamaha riders have both led the championship at points this year, with Quartararo streaking into a good lead and having Aleix Espargaro as his main competitor in the first half of the year, before Bagnaia seriously got his act together after the summer break to make big inroads.
Indeed, the Italian now has a golden chance of claiming a maiden MotoGP crown, with him just needing to finish 14th or higher whilst Quartararo needs to win and hope Pecco is 15th or lower.
It’s firmly in his favor after that win in Malaysia last time out, but when asked if the pressure is slightly off because of the Sepang result the Italian had this to say:
“No, sincerely no. Until there is a possibility, we have to keep pushing. For sure, it will be very important to be intelligent, to be smart for this weekend, because it is true that we are in a better place compared to Fabio but we have to finish the job. So, maximum concentration, I will try to be focused all weekend like always, trying to finish with the maximum possible.”
Quartararo was also asked about pressure heading into this one, with him now having very little to lose and knowing only a win will do if he is to have any chance of retaining his title:
“Well, the goal is clear,” said the Yamaha man.
“I only have one goal in my head. Clearly, I have nothing to lose, so I will do my best to do it, fighting for the win. Of course, it’s not the best situation to fight for the Championship, but it’s a good situation to not care at all. Whatever happens, it will be a tough season but a good one, so it’s all-in.”
It’s been quite the turnaround in the championship. At one point, Quartararo was 91 points clear of Bagnaia with the Ducati man having a poor start to the season.
Bagnaia was asked about the incredible change in the standings, then, with him now a firm favorite to claim the title:
“All the ups and downs in the first part of the season were not so much ups and downs but just a matter of crashing.
“In the first part of the season, I was competitive when I crashed and I just made mistakes. I tried to analyze why I was crashing and this has helped me to understand every situation better.
“In Japan, I was just too ambitious, but I got lucky twice. One, I didn’t crash into Fabio – I didn’t touch him when I crashed – and the second was that Fabio was with me, so he did not gain as many points from my crash, and this was very lucky for sure.
“But, I knew it was so important to be competitive; also in conditions when I was struggling, in Thailand. Then in Australia, I just tried to do the best but in the last lap it was too risky to fight for a win again. In Malaysia I was sure that arriving here with the maximum amount of points so I could be more relaxed here was so crucial, so my main objective was to win the race in Malaysia.
“For sure, Enea was putting a lot of pressure on me, but we were so competitive in the final laps and it was crucial ahead of this race.”
In fairness to Fabio, he’s perhaps done well to take it this far given the strength the Ducati has compared to the Yamaha.
Reflecting on the season, he had this to say:
“Before the start of the season, we had bad news about the bike, and the start of the season wasn’t that good.
“I was, let’s say, complaining a lot because after a lot of time to find something on the engine, we found nothing, so I wasn’t totally focused like I needed to be.
“Then I had a really great first half of the season; second one, I think we stayed at the same level and many riders and manufacturers made a bit step forward, and we stayed a little bit the same as at the beginning of the Championship.
“Then we made some mistakes, but I think that, in general, you learn when you have a tough season. So, it wasn’t the best, but it’s not so bad; we are still fighting for the championship in the last race. So, a lot of experience taken from this season that will be really great from the future.”
One final race to go this weekend, then, and though Bagnaia has a big lead, anything can still happen come lights out in Valencia on Sunday.
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