Although he is far behind Fabio Quartararo (with 66 points) and Aleix Espargaró (with 45), Pecco Bagnaia is still present in the pools of the fight for the world championship. The Ducati spearhead rider is not showing his best level this weekend at the British Grand Prix, even with a few crashes, however he is aware that some factors push him to try to take advantage of the moment.
On the one hand, Quartararo will have to pay a long lap penalty during the race, which could cause him to lose positions. On the other, Aleix, who until FP3 was flying on the asphalt of Silverstone, suffered a monumental blow in FP4 that could reduce his physical condition for a 20-lap race.
Bagnaia will start between the two, in the center of the second row of the grid.
“I did one of my best laps ever but it wasn’t enough,” admitted Pecco at the end of Q2, in which he was fifth.
“The level this weekend is brutal. I didn’t feel completely comfortable with the bike. I still have a couple of tenths left to fight to win,” he acknowledged.
On the reasons that have prevented him from feeling comfortable, he pointed to the grip and ruled out the fact that he did not have the new Ducati aerodynamic package.
“I’m lacking rear grip. Good thing it’s only in a couple of spots,” he said.
“The rear wings are half of the (aerodynamic) package, they have to go with the (full) fairing, which I will use in Austria,” he announced.
Although he is headed for a good performance, he does not have all the elements.
“We are in the right direction, but in Assen things came more naturally to me,” he lamented.
“The fact that pole is held by someone with the same bike as me sets the direction for me”,
The goal is to seize the moment.
“Aleix and Fabio are faster, but it is difficult to know what will happen. I will have to take advantage of eventualities that affect both of them, but I am not at my best,” he said.
Regarding Espargaró’s possible physical problems, Pecco has no doubt that he will be in the race.
“The time he has done in qualifying tells me that Aleix will run”.
But aside from the first two overall, Pecco is clear that the list of rivals for this race is long.
“The fastest of all is Johann Zarco, but there are six riders who have the pace to be ahead,” warned the Torino rider.
