2023-10-21 08:01:53
From being on the verge of losing the lead to getting more cushion points over Jorge Martín in his fight for the title. Pecco Bagnaia has passed the Australian Grand Prix MotoGP race with flying colors, an event in which the Italian driver achieved second position behind Johann Zarco in a test in which he knew the importance of saving his rear tire to avoid problems in the final part of the race.
Pecco completed a career from less to more; After starting third on the grid, the Italian remained in fourth position until lap 21, always behind his compatriot Fabio Di Giannantonio. In the final stretch of the race, both neutralized Brad Binder, although shortly after they were overtaken by an unstoppable Johann Zarco who was going straight for his first victory in MotoGP.
The current MotoGP champion couldn’t beat the Frenchman, but he did manage to overtake Jorge Martín on the last lap. taking advantage of the premature wear of the Spaniard’s soft rear tire compared to the consistency of the medium compound that both Pecco and the rest of the podium drivers had mounted on the rear.
After getting off the podium, now with a 27-point cushion over the PRAMAC Racing man from Madrid, Pecco admitted to the DAZN microphone that “We are always here, in the bad times and the good. This is something that we always have to keep in mind, because today it was not easy with these conditions“, recognized number #1.
Regarding his strategy for Saturday in Australia, Pecco commented that “When I went out and saw the others leaving, With my back rubber I was managing a lot, I didn’t know how much to push or wait. In the end I waited the whole race, I have never pulled with the rear tire.”explained Bagnaia who, far from taking risks, today has shown himself to be prudent and conservative.
Bagnaia, aware that Martín was messing around with the soft rear tire, expected the Spaniard to suffer problems in the closing stages of the race.: “I have worked a lot with the medium rubber this weekend and he knew perfectly well what his wear and tear was like, and in the end we were right for a turn. “These are things that can happen in our world.”
One last lap that changes EVERYTHING.
One last lap that turns EVERYTHING around.
A last lap that could be worth a WORLD WORLD ????Jorge Martín’s soft tire couldn’t hold up… And he lost a 3 second lead!!#AustralianGP ???????? #MotoGP ???? pic.twitter.com/X9DVmJswOZ
— DAZN Spain (@DAZN_ES) October 21, 2023
Yesterday, Pecco was not entirely happy with his pace and speed during Friday’s training. Today, however, his feelings on his bike have improved substantially thanks to the work that his technicians have done on his Desmosedici: “In Mandalika it was different, we had an electronic setup that I didn’t like very much and we had to change it for Sunday. When it is an electronics problem it is easier to individualize what you have to do“.
“This weekend was a little different,” details the one from Turin, “because yesterday we worked a lot with the medium tire and when we put on the soft one it was not ready, because they are very different tires, the soft one on the left side is much softer, and the bike moved a lot, it was very nervous, and this bothered me quite. This morning we made a change, which has also helped me a lot with the average. “The pace I had this morning was very good, and I knew that in the race I could replicate it.”
Read also: Another change in the schedules of the Australian GP for Sunday
Looking ahead to Sunday’s Sprint Race, Pecco doesn’t really know what to expect if the wind and rain forecasts come true; The only thing he is clear about is that, if he can run in dry conditions, the rear tire will be the soft one, the same one that Martín has chosen today: “Tomorrow if the forecasts are correct it will be very difficult to even open the box, because with winds of 60 km/h it will be very complicatedbut we already know which rubber can be used in tomorrow’s race, the soft one,” concludes the member of the Ducati Lenovo Team.
#lap #knew #tire #wore