In his third season in MotoGP, the Ducati rider had already had several clear opportunities to win, but for one reason or another he had not been able to do so. After taking pole on Saturday, Bagnaia looked like he had a chance of winning, although the ghosts of the past haunted his head.
The Italian was unapproachable this Sunday at Motorland and was the fair winner of the Aragón Grand Prix . He led every lap, with Marc Márquez at his wheel, and when the Catalan went on the attack in the last three, he returned each and every one of the seven overtakes he made.
“I’m really happy. This victory cost us a lot. Every time I was ready to win something happened: tires, crashes, yellow flags. Winning my first MotoGP race like this is better, sweeter. Fighting with Marc is not easy “I know that Marc is very strong in fighting. I knew I had something else, I had a little more rubber left behind. The pace was very constant. I think he tried to pass me seven times and I thought I couldn’t let him do even one corner in front. We have done everything perfect this weekend. I missed this feeling. I like it better to win like this”, Bagnaia commented.
The Honda rider was hunkered down for 20 laps , but he tried absolutely everything in the last three.
“I knew that he was going to try to pass me under braking. In other corners it was difficult. I knew that I would try it at the end because it was more comfortable to slipstream. When he passed me I saw that I had rubber problems. I knew what I had to do. It was not easy , because with the heat the tires wore out more,” he said.
Bagnaia’s victory places him second in the championship, 53 points behind Fabio Quartararo. With 125 at stake, he hasn’t thrown in the towel yet.
“Doing work like this, when it’s over, gives you more motivation. Fabio has lost a lot of points, he still has a big advantage. I’d like to continue like this, see what happens. Do weekends like this, because we’ve done everything perfectly,” he concluded.
(Click on this link or on the image to see the photos of the 2021 Aragón GP MotoGP race)
