Bagnaia: “I made a big mistake” 

Between the meeting in the Netherlands and that of Aragon, Francesco Bagnaia made no mistake with four victories in a row, followed by another podium. We thought then that he had learned lessons from his past mistakes like in Germany or France… but perhaps not. 

Starting from 12^e Instead, Bagnaia knew very well that the podium was not a priority. Above all, it was about not conceding anything to fabio quartararo in the general classification. After yo-yoing between tenth and twelfth place at the start of the race, the Italian, victim of a build-up in pressure in his front tire, still managed to make up for his delay to get into the slipstream. of his French rival a few laps from the checkered flag. 

In the last loop, Bagnaia was a little too optimistic entering turn 3 and he lost the front, stopping his progress in the overall standings. “I made a big mistake,” he laments. I had trouble overtaking. My traction wasn't the best and I was losing time when accelerating. I was very strong when braking, but I was a little too optimistic in this case. Luckily, I didn't touch Fabio. So I didn't disrupt his race, but I'm not happy. »

THE FALL of Francesco Bagnaia 😱#JapaneseGP ▶: https://t.co/Q9uXtTYtRy pic.twitter.com/zQAjC3DvQw

— CANAL+ MotoGP™ (@CanalplusMotoGP) September 25, 2022

If he had not lost time in the first half of the race, Bagnaia might have been able to move up the standings sooner. “My pressure before was very, very high,” he says. It was very weird. I tried not to make any mistakes at that time. It dropped and I was able to attack to gain ground. This is something that can happen. This is one of the first times this year I find myself in a big group. We were not well prepared. » 

And the protégé of Valentino Rossi to insist: “I just want to say that I didn't fall because of that, but because I made a mistake. I have already apologized to my team. »

Between ninth and eighth place, there is only one point difference at the finish. We can then ask ourselves why attempt such an attack for so little. “One point can make the difference,” he said. So I tried to do it, but I was too ambitious. Finishing behind Fabio or waiting for a better opportunity to overtake him would have been better. We think about it after the race. My ambition was to overtake Fabio and get closer to Maverick (Viñales) to pass him if he made a mistake. I've been ambitious, but it's the only thing I can do to win the championship. »

No change for Thailand 

Bagnaia can console himself by saying that Quartararo has only regained eight points overall. The next meeting will take place next weekend in Thailand and the Italian assures that he will not change his way of working. “This weekend was pretty weird with everything that happened,” he said of the fact that there was only one dry session. This morning I was also competitive, so what happened during the race was strange. We knew that starting from afar, it's difficult to set a rhythm. For the next race, I will do my job, as always. It will be about trying to be competitive, but I won't be more aggressive. I just need to do what I did in Aragon or Misano, keep my pace and try to score points. »