Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia is blunt: “Nothing changes; I’m aiming for ninth place.”
Ducati rider Pecco Bagnaia had some harsh words after the Sprint race in Australia, which ended in a retirement due to a technical issue: “I had to retire—it wasn’t my fault. These things happen.”
On the complicated qualifying session: “We got the strategy wrong. We chose the wrong tire—it happens. It’s difficult to assess the situation and conditions when you’re the first one out on the track. I don’t know if I would have made it through to Q2—I think so—but it wouldn’t have changed anything about what happened later in the race. So I don’t know,” he said at the press conference.
The two-time MotoGP world champion was also terse on the weather: “Do I prefer dry or wet? It’s the same—it doesn’t change anything for me. The pace in the wet and dry is equally slow. I’m in the middle of the standings; honestly, I can’t aim for a top-five finish. In my opinion, ninth through twelfth is a realistic goal. We need to aim for that.”
The Sprint race was won by Marc Marquez, who started from pole position and edged out his brother Alex (Ducati Gresini) and Fabio Di Giannantonio (Ducati VR46) in the final sprint, resulting in an all-Borgo Panigale podium. Marco Bezzecchi finished fourth, the top Aprilia rider, ahead of Pedro Acosta on the KTM and Ai Ogura on the Aprilia Trackhouse.
Saturday’s action in Australia, however, was marked above all by Jorge Martin’s crash at Turn 8 on the eighth lap, while the Spaniard was battling Marc Marquez for the lead. Martin broke his arm and will not participate in Sunday’s race.
