Alcañiz.- The Ducati rider got his second pole position of the season, after Qatar in the first race of the course, and also the second since he has been in MotoGP, where he is still chasing his first victory after three years.
Motorland, where the Aragon Grand Prix is being held this weekend, seems like an ideal setting to end this trend and, for now, the Italian has managed to claim pole position, the best starting point to seek victory.
“It was a perfect lap. In the first sector I was already four tenths below my best time up to then. The bike has helped us a lot when entering the corners. I compared the data of Jorge Martín in the last sector, who was doing better than me up to that moment, and we have been able to do the same as him. I didn’t expect it and I’m very happy”, admitted Bagnaia , who beat the best time ever in Aragon ( 1:46.322 ) completing a double for Ducati on the grid.
“When I got here on Thursday I had a lot of doubts. I was thinking a lot about how to be fast on this circuit where I’ve always had difficulties, but since FP1 my feelings have improved a lot. Since Silverstone I haven’t changed anything and I’ve felt good on the bike, I just tried to be more competitive in terms of riding”, he argued.
“It is a great day for Ducati. Miller, Martín, Zarco, Bastianini… all the Ducati are in the top 10 except Marini’s. It is undoubtedly a great result”, highlighted the work of the Bologna brand.
Looking ahead to the race, this circuit requires a lot of tire management to be able to maintain grip until the end.
“I think the rear soft tire gives us a good combination of grip and consistency. The hard one was not bad, but it had more draft than the soft rubber. I’ve done a lot of laps in FP4 and he was consistent at the pace level, trying different power maps, so I think he can make it to the end.”
“You can go flat out the whole race because it is possible to manage the grip on this circuit. I pushed and everything was comfortable for me. I rode at a good pace with 26 laps on the tyre, three more than the race distance. I have seen the pace of Márquez, who is very competitive, but we also have a step to fight until the end”, he warned.
So far, both last year and this year, Pecco had great opportunities to win races, but for one reason or another he couldn’t do it.
“I don’t think we’re going to have bad luck tomorrow. I hope to have a normal situation, at Silverstone we had a problem with the tire and this time it’s not my turn. I hope to have as clear a race as the whole weekend so far.”
They insisted if it was time to win a race.
“I do not know. Tomorrow I hope to start well, try to set my pace and see what happens in the first 17 or 18 laps. I think that in the last part of the race something can change. It all depends on the consumption of rubber, and I think we will be strong there. If I’m strong and win it will be fantastic, but the important thing is to be at the front throughout the race and get to the end with options”, he tried to calm things down.
(Before continuing reading, click on this link or on the image to see the photos of the Aragón GP 2021 MotoGP classification)
“This weekend is a bit like Mugello. The sensations are very good, but I have already felt that way this year and we have had problems or made mistakes. It’s hard to know if I’m ready to win, I can’t venture into that, but everything is coming together very well and the pace is very good. I don’t know if I’ll be able to win, but we have a great chance to get it here tomorrow.”
What is clear is that Ducati has taken a huge step forward from last year to this one on this circuit.
“Ducati has worked a lot with this bike and everything is better than last year. This weekend I feel like I can do what I want with the bike, so I haven’t touched anything on the set-up since FP1 and everything is working very well.”
