Bagnaia: "Having other Ducatis in front of us can help us"

The Ducati rider gave up a good part of his options at Le Mans on Saturday when he couldn’t get past 16th place on the grid. The Italian also did not go well in the race and reached the Dunlop chicane in penultimate place in the peloton.

From there, Bagnaia undertook the comeback until the rain forced him to change bikes on lap 6. The Turin rider left the pit lane tenth and from then on he dedicated himself to cutting time with his head.

Finally, it was his teammate Jack Miller who got the second consecutive victory, while Pecco saved the furniture with an unexpected fourth place. Fabio Quartararo was third and snatches the leadership of the World Cup by one point. Next stop: Mugello .

“I was lucky that it was a flag- to-flag race, because with the bike in the dry there were some problems that we have to analyze. Last year in the wet it was very difficult for me and on the other hand today a good race came out, this is very positive. case of rain I told my team that I preferred the medium tires and it was the right choice, because my pace was very good until the end, so I was able to recover several seconds. We just have to check what happened with the first moto, but today we have to be happy because I’m second in the championship, just one point behind Fabio. I’m looking forward to racing in Mugello”, explained Bagnaia at the end.

The 2018 Moto2 champion had to serve two long lap penalties – like Miller – for exceeding the maximum speed in the pit lane (60 km/h).

“I am happy with this fourth place because I had to serve two long lap penalties for entering the pit lane too fast and that cost me about seven seconds. If it has only happened to us, there is something we have to look at. active, you go at 70 km/h, more or less, so you have to be more reactive when braking. But there was nothing that didn’t work,” he said.

For Bagnaia it is not new to come back. In Moto3, when I was riding a Mahindra that was below the Honda and the KTM, I was used to it. This same season, two races ago at Portimao, he has already made up nine places to finish second.

“In Moto3 I always made great comebacks, because the Mahindra was not doing very well in qualifying. I was used to starting 17th and finishing in the first group. In Moto2 I think I never had to make a comeback, it only happened to me once in Australia. “I’ve had two big comebacks, in Portimao and here. I’m happy to have improved on that too, because it’s very important. I’m more proud of the one in Portimao because it’s more difficult under normal conditions, but even today, when it started to rain, I was 18th and I’ve come back to fourth.” he remembered.

Ducati achieved a new one-two finish with Johann Zarco finishing behind Miller and confirmed as the fittest bike at this point in the season. This factor can help in the face of the championship according to #63 .

“Being at the front after a weekend like this means that everything is going well. I feel good with the bike and the team, but I can’t think about the title yet, because it’s only been five races. I think the fight for the title It will start to take shape after Misano. We’ll see where we are when we get there, but for now I’m satisfied with what we’re doing. It’s good that there are more Ducati up front and it’s something that can help us, because it allows us to have more stimuli and ‘copy’ something of someone who goes faster. However, there are 22 riders to beat, so I think it is quite even to fight against a rival with whom you play the championship, whatever his bike is, “he clinches.