Pecco is rather disappointed and hard on Ducati: “Since this winter, I haven’t been able to do two consecutive laps with the same bike: so it’s difficult for a rider. I asked Dall’Igna to go back to work as in 2021: I don’t want to develop any more during the races ”
March 6, 2022
It’s a Pecco Bagnaia unusually angry that of Qatar. The crash at the first corner of the 12th lap while he was struggling with Jorge Martin for the eighth position, it was the straw he made overflow the camel’s back. Pecco is not happy and does not hide it.
“In these months I worked too hardI am a pilot, not a test driver. We continued to test material, from the tests in Malaysia to yesterday’s FP3 there was none never a shift in which I rode with the same bike as in the previous session. Only from today’s FP4 have we no longer touched the bike and I started to be faster. But with the electronics I was not good for the race. The truth is that in this period we have focused too much on development“.
Can you explain why it is so penalizing?
“For me it is unacceptable not to use the same bike for two consecutive sessions: a sensitive rider like me needs to focus on his riding style, but I have never been able to do this, I have never been able to adapt to the bike”
P.but this is part of the work that an official driver has to do
“In the past it wasn’t like that, not everything was entrusted to the official team, the satellite team also worked. I’m not a tester, I’m here to win, I need to focus on myself as much as possible. The tests must be done in the tests, not in the race. I need to concentrate on adapting my riding style to the bike, to the track conditions: we are behind on this job. I know that an official driver has to do development as well, but I have to be a driver. I asked Gigi (Dall’Igna, NDA) to go back to work as in 2021, when after Austria we didn’t touch anything on the bike anymore, we focused only on me. If you can’t fit the bike, you can’t be fast. The difference between me and Bastianini who won is that I changed bikes in every session, while he just had to put gas in the tank… He was really good, I absolutely don’t want to diminish his victory, but we know how the GP21 is going “
THEn that braking did you exaggerate too much?
“No. Martin was slower than me by 0 ”4 per lap, but I struggled to pass him on the straight, as well as I also struggled with the Yamaha: you have to understand what happened. I didn’t do an exaggerated braking, a little stronger yes, but not exaggerated and I closed the front. But it wasn’t a crazy overtaking, simply an unsuccessful overtaking: I’d try again. I apologize to Pramac, Jorge, Ducati: now we need to look ahead “
C.do you think Ducati made a mistake in judgment? With just five days of testing, three of which on a completely new track, there was little time to develop the GP22
“No, no mistake has been made, you have to try new things. It is true that our bike is similar to the old one, but it is not. But in FP4 we found the way, which will also be good for the other Ducati riders. But I would like to avoid doing this type of work during a race weekend “
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