After a month of summer break, MotoGP returns to activity with the press conference for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. In it, Pecco Bagnaia declared that he was “happy” to return to a circuit where things did not go well last year.
“Five weeks is quite a long period and I was really looking forward to coming back. Last year I had problems with the rear tyre, but I think with the improvements this season we will be able to be more competitive.”
The truth is that the Ducati Team rider has not lived up to expectations, and at this point in the season he seems to be out of contention for the title . At the end of the Dutch Grand Prix, Bagnaia is fourth in the general classification, 66 points behind Fabio Quartararo.
“If I want to have a chance of winning the championship, I have to finish races,” the Italian assumes. “Of course, finishing first is very good, but it is also important to finish when you see that you are not capable of winning. In the last six Grands Prix I have won three races, but I crashed in the other three.”
Consistency, says Pecco , will be the key for the remainder of the season: “In this second part of the season it will be important to find the consistency that we lacked in the first half, while maintaining our competitiveness.”
But at this press conference all eyes were on Bagnaia, and it was not for strictly sporting reasons. The pilot suffered a traffic accident during his vacation in Ibiza, and the subsequent investigation revealed that the Italian committed a crime by tripling the permitted level of alcohol, with a positive result of 0.83 mg/l .
Pecco, visibly upset by the question, admitted his mistake. “I have already said what I had to say on my social networks. Three or four weeks have passed since that moment. It is something that, without a doubt, does not affect MotoGP at all, because it is not something that affects my mentality or how I face the competition.”
“It was easy for me to focus again on MotoGP and not on what happened, because it was a mistake,” he adds. “Unfortunately it is something that can happen and I have already recognized my mistake.”
When asked about possible penalties in this regard, as has happened in other sports, his teammate, Jack Miller, came to his rescue . “What other sports [have sanctioned athletes]? This only adds negativity. No need to comment further.” “He has said what he had to say, period,” he settled.
Another burning point was the sanction imposed on Fabio Quartararo for wearing Aleix Espargaró at the Dutch Grand Prix. “For us it is difficult to understand this type of sanctions,” acknowledged the Ducati man.
“In Qatar I did something similar with Jack and no sanction was imposed on me. In Barcelona we saw a big crash due to irresponsible driving, and ‘Taka’ was not penalized. I do not agree with Fabio’s sanction, but this situation can benefit us and we can get some advantage.”
Bagnaia also commented to the media on the announcement of the retirement of Andrea Dovizioso, whom he describes as “one of the most important Italian drivers”.
“It is difficult to know why he has made that decision, but I understand that he will have his reasons. We have to think that he has had a great career, that he has been one of the most important riders and that he has done a great job at Ducati”.
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