In the first four races held outside Europe, none of the top seven finishers in the 2021 World Championship managed to get on the top step of the podium. Among these pilots, obviously, there is also the runner-up in the world Pecco Bagnaia.
Last year, Portimao gifted the Italian’s record with a victory, a second place and a pole position, so it seems that the Algarve could be the ideal ground to redeem himself.
However, although he starts as one of the candidates for victory, this does not seem to be an obsession for the Ducati rider.
“I just want to keep working like I did in Austin, because we did really well. I want to follow our progression to find those feelings,” Bagnaia said before the start of the Portuguese Grand Prix.
“This track is good for me, it’s good for Ducati, I like it a lot and last year it went well for me, so let’s see what we can do this weekend.”
Little by little, Pecco Bagnaia assures that the good sensations are increasing with the GP22.
“Austin definitely helped us think a lot. It’s clear that we still need some improvement when it comes to braking. In Texas I was fast and strong in these aspects, but there is still something missing when I start to release the brake,” he said.
However, the Italian rider believes that this weekend is adequate “to understand the level of Ducati at the moment”.
“Last year at this point we were ahead, because we had more points and we were much more competitive. We know it’s a long job, because last year’s bike already had two years of work, so right now it’s even, higher , but we’re getting there.”
However, with already 38 points to recover in the standings, the time has come to really change the season, although the Piedmontese is trying to focus as much as possible on the growth of the bike than on the results themselves.
“If we want to think about the championship, we must also start achieving important results. There is work to be done,” he concluded.
