Dream scenario for Bagnaia in Buriram

Marc Marquez, Miguel Oliveira, Jack Miller and Johann Zarco are among the drivers on the grid who like the rain and ride on a wet track. Francesco Bagnaia is not usually one of them. And for good reason, during the last wet race in Mandalika, the Italian did not manage to do better than 15^e when fabio quartararo finished on the podium. It was a bit of the opposite scenario that took place in Buriram, with Bagnaia on the podium and Quartararo in difficulty. 

“Jack told me to believe more in myself in those conditions” 🎙️ – @PeccoBagnaia

A little pre-race pep talk from @jackmilleraus, and the memory of the Motegi mistake from 7 days ago, certainly seemed to help today! 💪#ThaiGP 🇹🇭 pic.twitter.com/U8OyxMVxGT

— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) October 2, 2022

Bagnaia therefore knew how to take advantage of the situation to relaunch himself in the championship after committing the irreparable in the last round in Japan. “This morning in warm-up, with new settings, everything was perfect,” he explains. I had the best warm-up of my career and was ready for dry weather, but as soon as it started raining I got nervous. Jack told me to believe in myself more under these conditions. I knew my potential in the wet was not that of Mandalika or Motegi, because last year I was faster. I think Motegi's fury helped me be closer to the leaders. Usually Miguel, Jack and Johann are the three fastest in the wet, so I was sure it was a good idea to stay close to them. I just struggled in the last part of the race with the front end, but that was the case for everyone. »

“I thanked Johann for not tempting the devil in the last part of the race” – Pecco Bagnaia.

Securing third place was no easy task for Bagnaia who had to deal with the threat of Marc Marquez and Johann Zarco in the final laps. Seeing that it was impossible to win, Zarco put himself on reserve and did not try anything on his Ducati counterpart. “Marc came back, and when he tried to overtake me I saw that I was losing a little time braking,” confides Bagnaia. So I tried to improve on this point and I think that's why Johann didn't try to overtake me. »

And added: “I thanked Johann for not tempting the devil in the last part of the race. He also said that I was fast and that overtaking me was too risky. »

Two points behind Quartararo in the championship

With three races remaining in the season, there are seven who can claim the crown. Bagnaia is only two points behind Quartararo and he says he is confident ahead of the next meetings. “It will be more intense from now on,” he said. In these last three races I will have to be very intelligent in all situations, because I think our potential is very high. I must not make any mistakes, like in Japan or before the break. We already know that at Phillip Island it could be cold, so we will have to wait, but whatever happens we will be competitive. »

The only time he raced at Phillip Island in MotoGP was in 2019 during his rookie year. At the end of this race, Bagnaia finished fourth, signing his best MotoGP result to that point…