Pecco Bagnaia arrives the weekend that will decide the MotoGP title: the Barcelona Solidarity Grand Prix in Montmeló. And he does it in a very compromised situation, with nothing to lose and everything to gain against his great rival, Jorge Martin.
Although he won Sunday’s race in Malaysia, his crash in Saturday’s sprint decisively damaged his chances, to the point of leaving Sepang 24 points behind the Spaniards with only 37 left to play. The student of Valentino Rossi He is very close to losing the No. 1 for the first time since he snagged it in 2022but his strategy on the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya is clear: win both roundsfirst avoiding Pramac’s attack in the short try, and almost expecting a miracle in the form of problems for Martín.
On arrival at BarcelonaBagnaia commented on DAZN how he is facing this situation: “The truth is that I am very happy. I want to shoot. I’m in a situation where I’m doing everything in my power, and when you’re like that, it’s not easier, but you can take more risks. And I think that for Jorge it’s the opposite, he’s in a better situation, but there might be some… No problem, but you have to be more careful. And we’ll see what happens. “I think it’s going to be a great weekend, we’re going to have a lot of fun, and whatever happens will be.”
“Whoever wins will win because they did a great job. In the end, we did a lot, he did too, and he certainly made fewer mistakes.. I think it’s been a great championship and it’s a great opportunity to be here, not only for the championship, but also for what happened in Valence. We run for them. I hope a lot of people are here, cheering everyone on and having fun with what they see,” he continued.
As for the background in Montmeló, the still n°1 will use the base of the GP of Catalonia in May: “Apart from the last lap of the sprint [donde se cayó]I always went very quickly. The conditions change a little, but we will leave with the same bike from the weekend [de mayo]which worked very well. I’m going to do as always, I’m not going with the same Malaysian strategy. Here it is more important to do a lot of laps on the Sunday tire, so I will try that way. I’m going to give it my all and have fun. I’m going to turn around and not look at turn 5 [donde cayó]”.
Already during the press conference, Bagnaia had expressed his feeling: “To get 20 points in one weekend is very difficult, but we have to do our best. My goal will be to win both races and take the title on Sunday. And what happens will happen. This circuit is very good for us, in May we were very competitive. We have to enjoy it and try to make the weekend perfect. In May, third finished 11 seconds behind us, but I’m hoping someone sneaks into the fight. Jorge may be smart, but pressure can also play a role. “We’ll have to wait until Sunday.”
Regarding the weekend strategy, he detailed: “We will not do anything that could compromise Martín’s result. I will do my best in both races. The level that we both have is enough to guarantee the title to Jorge, even if I slow down a little it is difficult for me to finish on the podium. This is reality. I’m not going to try to generate anything, whatever happens, it will happen. He will benefit from the help of other pilots, such as Aleix Espargaroand me others, from the Valentino Academy. I think we’re more or less in a similar situation, but he’s got a 24-point lead, he can afford to play with it.”
If he manages to win the title, the Piedmontese driver will win his third title in the premier category. When asked if it would be the most important of his career, he replied: “It is difficult to compare the titles, because they happened in different ways. In the first one I was below, but my rival was at a technical disadvantage Last year was perhaps the easiest, but the fall of Barcelona weighed me down and I had to slow down. And this year I made a lot of mistakes and I also had bad luck. Jorge was very precise, he did not always accept a victory, but second places. It made the difference. In sprints he has a clear points advantage. But we are going to say that if I win on Sunday, it will be because I did a great job, but because he also made a mistake.
“Martín wants to enjoy this weekend and he has a great year planned, he has no choice but to do it. This time, I think my maximum is not enough, so we have to see what will happen“, he summed up later, before praising the rivalry he had with the #89 during the last campaigns: “This type of situation reminds me of the past, when there were rivalries like Rossi against Gibernau or Stoner, then Daniel Pedrosa against Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez against the rest…. It was something we’ve been missing since 2015 or 2016. It brings more balance to the championship, performance-wise, and I think it’s fantastic that our fair relationship and healthy rivalry is something new.“.
“I think we both deserve the title. In terms of pure results, we did a great job, but we made more mistakes than Jorge. It may seem strange, but if Martín wins the title, I will be happy for him, because I know him well and I think he deserves it.” he continued, before talking about possible mind games he might play this weekend: “The only thing I’m going to do is if I have Jorge behind me, I’m not going to give everything. I know perfectly well that, for me, mind games don’t work. I never liked doing them. “I will continue to do my job, in the end they extract the positive from you, I think he understood that last year.”
Finally, the transalpine thanked Michelin for bringing up to seven different types of tires to Montmeló to test, “you have to be content with being able to use different specifications“, and stressed that in terms of layout he prefers “close the year here“, in Barcelona, compared to Cheste.
