The perfect moment of Francesco Bagnaia continue on your favorite track, that of Assen where a triumphal Dutch GP took place for the Ducati rider. After winning the race in 2022 and 2023, the reigning champion he lowered thehat trick in front of a Jorge Martin who tried to undermine his rival, only to then give up at the end of a race in which the gap between the two even exceeded 3 seconds. And Borgo Panigale completed the triumph with Enea Bastianini’s comeback, from tenth to third after the checkered flag.
All Bagnaia’s records at Assen, and beyond
A weekend once again dedicated to Ducatis, in short, and to a Bagnaia has been virtually unstoppable for a number of races now. Also because in Assen, never satisfied, he took home the pole and the victory in the Sprint, in addition to the success in the race. And with the 33rd career victory also reaches 23 in MotoGPequaling the record of another Ducati rider like Casey Stoner.
And again, Pecco is at his third consecutive success of the season, while Valentino Rossi has not even managed to get his third triumph in Assen. And, finally, Paradoxically, Martin still leads the standingsbut Bagnaia brought himself minus 10 points: a trifle in MotoGP.
Bagnaia: “I’m always critical of myself, there have been avoidable mistakes”
Yet, in post-race interviews with Sky Sport the driver underlined the work to be done on him (“I’m always very critical of myself“), referring to the Barcelona mistake “which was avoidable”. Pecco continued: “There is always something to learn, It’s not like you become a champion out of nowhere: there’s a lot of work behind it. We are on the right track, but we still need to do a lot“.
In the race “there isn’t much space to think, but you have to control all situations as much as possible”. In particular the wind and the front tire “because it wasn’t hot enough for the hard and not even that cold with the medium”, and with the first “we went a bit to the limit”. “Martin then tried to catch me twice and in those moments I had to reopen the gap. I tried to do my best, as always,” continued Pecco.
“Assen is a track that suits me more than the bike”
Bagnaia then explained that on Friday morning the medium tyre was working well and allowed him to go fast, “not even those who had mounted the soft to set the time beat us”. A track like Assen, compared to the others, adapts to his riding style, the Piedmontese rider revealed, “more than to the bike”. The latter “she tends to always be a little nervous, moving around a lot. But we did a job that was fundamental to get it right and be competitive. And then I love fast and linking corners”.
“I am confident for the next races”
Ahead of the German GP, on that Sachsenring that he saw Marc Marquez breaking several records and where the outgoing winner is Jorge Martin, Bagnaia is aware that his direct rivals remain the favorites, “even if last year in the race on Sunday I was perhaps stronger, although Jorge was better at winning”. “We’ll see this year – he continued – but I think that the steps forward we are making will lead us to be competitive straight away”.
And on the next races and those in which he could be victorious like Assen, Pecco replied: “I would like to be like this in every event. I am aware that if we work well, we can always obtain these results. There are definitely more favorable tracks and others that aren’t, but I think the next three will be quite good. In addition to the Sachsenring, also Silverstone, the Red Bull Ring, Misano, Aragon: I have always been very strong in all of themAnd. And I also achieved good results in Australia and Asia.”
Finally, a comment on the curious podium ceremony, where he appeared from under the stage on his motorbike, amidst smoke and special effects. When asked for an opinion by Guido Meda, Pecco had no doubts: “A badass!“.
