King Pecco leads and wins. Right start at the green light and off, head down and with the sound of faster laps, towards a victory that confirms him as the number one in MotoGP. Ok, the standings say that there are still ten points to nibble away at Martin to take the lead in the World Championship, but Bagnaia’s victory in Assen has a strong and clear meaning: he is and he will be the man to beat.
He is and he will be the strong candidate to take home the 2024 cup. Martin, Marquez and the others? Good, very good, tough opponents, but none with the strength, tactical intelligence and courage that Pecco is putting into his season. He, the only one capable of making the difference (and here he is, the genius) on a Ducati that is actually the same bike, namely the Desmo24 that reached the podium with Martin and Bastianini. But it is he, Pecco, who knows how to push it where others can’t.
Pecco won by a landslide at Assen, putting his signature on a very personal ‘number 3’ law. Third consecutive victory on the Dutch track, in the last three GPs and third consecutive victory in the last three stages of the current season. Bagnaia won in Jerez, at Mugello and yesterday in Holland.
“And I’m very happy – he exclaims and smiles -. Happy because we were good at having a perfect weekend. The bike was very strong right away and I always have a lot of fun in Assen. And anyway… I always have something to learn”. The perfect mix, in short, to get my hands on the race, as it was on the Sprint, in free practice and qualifying. Pecco puts the Italian flag on his shoulders and thus describes his unrivaled Assen. “I was fast and precise. I wanted to manage the race right away and the pace of my Ducati was immediately ok. I knew I shouldn’t have given anything to those behind me, because Martin was coming up strong, and I managed it, also for… them”.
Bagnaia points to the audience, his fans who have invaded the Dutch Cathedral and enjoys applause and smoke bombs. “I had fun. I had fun like crazy and I want to thank the people, those who were here, those who knew that this time too in Assen I would do something very special. Me as Stoner, given that I won in Ducati 23 times? But no…”.
Martin and his Ducati Pramac and Bastianini completed and closed the podium. The Spaniard says: “In the end I’m very satisfied, because I saw that Pecco really had more and having finished second gives me the right energy to be able to continue fighting towards the title”. Then here is the Beast, capable of putting together a match as number one. Bastianini is enjoying it and aims to return to being an absolute protagonist in the next races. “I feel good and I think I did good things, like that particular moment I experienced overtaking Marquez. It wasn’t easy, I prevailed and this gives me excellent feelings also in perspective. Is that a shame? He’s from another planet.”
