MotoGP, Bagnaia: “This week I’m aiming for something more than a podium”

Even though it had two riders on the podium and four in the top ten, Ducati was the big disappointment of the first racing weekend of the 2021 championship. In fact, at Losail, the Borgo Panigale manufacturer’s bikes had won the last two editions (2019, 2019) with Andrea Dovizioso who had been able to exploit all the power of the Desmosedici on the long straights of the Doha track in the battles in the lead with Marc Marquez. On Sunday, there was again a Ducati in the lead and also for a good part of the race with Pecco Bagnaia who, however, had to surrender to the pace of Maverick Vinales. The Italian rider, in his first race weekend with the factory team, obtained a pole position and a podium, results he aims to repeat and improve in the second race of the season which will again take place in Losail this weekend.

“Last week, I went close to getting my first MotoGP win, but unfortunately, the strategy I adopted in the race turned out to be wrong – said Pecco – I pushed too hard at the start, and that prevented me from maintaining the same pace until the end. Still, I managed to get on the podium, and I’m pleased about that because it was a great way to start my new adventure with the Ducati Lenovo Team. This week I’ll definitely aim for something more. The track conditions last Sunday were particular because of the wind and the sand on the track surface. Now, we’ll analyze the data to be able to fight for the victory until the last lap of the Doha GP”.

Ninth position, on the other hand, for Jack Miller, who was dangerously close to rookie Bastianini (tenth at the finish) racing with a Ducati that is a mix between 2019 and 2020. The Australian rider, reckoned by many observers to be Ducati’s best bet in the fight for the world title, will have to undergo a reboot after a certainly not brilliant weekend.

“The Qatar GP didn’t go exactly as I expected. After being at the top at the end of free practices and after a good qualifying, I was hoping for a better result in the race. Unfortunately, after a good start, I couldn’t ride as I wanted in the second part of the competition. The positive thing is that now we have real feedback on what can happen in the race, so we will work on the data from last Sunday to find a solution that will allow me to be more competitive in the Doha GP. I am sure that we can fight for a good result.”