Bagnaia: “Departures to be reviewed”. Martin: “I was thinking about falls”

Overall, third place in Mandalika satisfies Francesco Bagnaia. Not so much because of the difficulties encountered, but because it allows the world champion, also thanks to yesterday’s Sprint victory, to gain a few points from Jorge Martin on a weekend where he didn’t think he would. “If we consider the start of the weekend, I’m satisfied – said the Piedmontese rider from the official Ducati – we didn’t think we’d be able to recover points from Martin. After yesterday’s race I had a lot of confidence and I was sure I could make a good start, but that wasn’t the case. was”.

problems ahead

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The start itself was a negative moment for the reigning MotoGP world champion: “It was a really very difficult race. At the start the bike pushed again and I lost positions. It’s the fifth consecutive start in which I struggle with. It’s a detail that needs to be improved: a good start can win you races. In the warm up I felt good with the medium tire At some point I’ve been overtaken a lot. Our bike is extremely competitive, but it takes a few more laps to get the rear tire to temperature. When you start from the back you struggle to get it up to temperature the bike always slips and I lose positions. The result is still positive if we think about the difficulties I had today. Overtaking was easier for me because the 2023 Ducati has more traction. .

Martin speaks

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Jorge Martin, on the other hand, leaves this weekend more than satisfied. Last year he crashed here, probably putting an end to his dreams of glory. This year the slip occurred but in the Sprint, then in the race a superb performance and a victory that allows him to remain at +21 on Bagnaia, losing only 3 points and with one less race to run: “This is not a victory normal – said Martinator – it was difficult to go so fast after the crash last year and yesterday. I thought about the mistake in every corner and I had some doubts. Acosta put a bit of pressure on me, but we had an excellent race I’m happy not so much for the result, but for my redemption after a complicated psychological situation. After 13 laps, the ghosts of last year came back to me. Every time I went through turn 16, I tried to ride with great calm that I lost from Acosta, I then recovered it in other areas of the track. I managed to maintain a constant pace and a good gap. I need to have more head: yesterday I was too optimistic and I crashed continually grow as a person as well.”