“If I need to try something, I will!”: Thursday talking points in Barcelona
Hear from Bagnaia, Martin, Bezzecchi, Binder, Zarco, Aleix Espargaro, Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro
We’re back in Barcelona and ready to rock’n’roll at the Gran Premi Monster Energy de Catalunya, with the second half of the season now really about to heat up. And ahead of track action, as ever, it was time to talk shop.
The first Press Conference on Thursday comprised Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team), Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing)
FRANCESCO BAGNAIA: “I feel that I’m enjoying and that I have a great feeling with the team honestly. We are working a lot and improving our situation, starting every time not in the best way on Friday morning but every time we are improving and in Austria we discovered something that helped me a lot to improve our situation, our performance and I’m very happy.”
Is it a track you like and why haven’t you got results here?
“It’s one of my favourite tracks, I always love to be here. I’ve never had a good result, the best was P6 in 2020 and for sure it’s something to improve. Last year I was competitive, I was starting on the front row, the pace all weekend was fast and everyone knows what happened at the first corner. As always if we work well we can be fast and competitive to fight for the top positions.”
America’s Cup experience:
“For me it was incredible. A bit less for some people on the other boat who were feeling the waves, they got a bit dizzy, but I was feeling incredible on the boat. The speed they can reach on the water is incredible. They did a big turn and the G-force is like an F1 car. I was not expecting it but it was really great. I also drove it, it was a bit scary because the wind and the waves are pretty unpredictable but I was feeling great.”
JORGE MARTIN: “I’m looking forward to it. It’ll be a really interesting weekend, I feel. in terms of race pace I feel really competitive I’ve just been a little bit unlucky but yeah I’m just going to try and be focused and not make any mistakes because that’s the key to having a great race on Sunday.”
You need a big weekend to break Pecco?
“Well, I’m just missing a few podiums from a few podiums for a few races. I got third at the Sprint race in Austria, but it’s never enough. Hopefully, we can be back on the podium this Sunday, that will be important.”
Are you concerned about Qualifying?
“I think I’ve been quite unlucky because of crashes and yellow flags, or in Austria because of track limits. Now it’s really on the limit. I feel like what was my strongest point is now my weak point. So hopefully now I can get back to focusing again and I feel like I can do those amazing laps again and hopefully we can do it this weekend.”
New contract:
MARCO BEZZECCHI: “Thank you first of all. It wasn’t an easy decision for sure all because when you have the possibility to get a factory bike it’s always interesting, but to be honest from my point of view the human side let’s say of the team was very important for me, I built a relationship with these guys for many years that for me is very important for me to perform in this way, and I was not sure I could build such a strong relationship with another team in a short time. In MotoGP we have to perform very quickly. So for me it was a bit easier to decide to stay in this team and also to see Vale so interested in me, pushing me to stay was very important because at the end Vale is Vale and he believed in me for many years. Without him it was probably not possible to arrive at the world championship so I decided to stay.”
How tempting was it to leave?
“It was tough but Ducati are supporting us in the best way we can. Ok we don’t have the new bike but the support from them is fantastic, they always try to help us and give us advice to help us perform in the best way. In the end I won’t miss out on any support.”
Keys to being fast here:
“I would kike to be competitive for sure. It’s a track that I like but last year unfortunately in the race I crashed, I was quite competitive but I made this mistake. This year I hope to continue in the way I was in the last races, in Austria I was very fast apart from the sprint, so yeah I hope to enjoy it on the bike. Finally to tomorrow we ride and it will be easier than media.”
Seat on Pecco’s plane?
“This time no!”
BRAD BINDER: “I’m coming into this weekend with a lot of confidence. We’ve had a good few weekends. It’s true, that this track has been a bit of a challenge for us in the past, but on every track we’ve gone to this year, we’ve been close to a second faster than we’ve ever been. So yeah, I believe we can be strong for sure. I’m really looking forward to getting started again. I think this track can be good for us. I’ve always been OK over one lap but never put the rest together, so I’ve learned a lot in the last couple of seasons and I’m looking to change that.”
How important is it to keep momentum going?
“I feel like the first half of the year I made a lot of mistakes and did a lot of things I didn’t want to or shouldn’t have. The last few races I really feel like we’ve started to fall into our stride and things have been going well for us. I feel competitive, I feel good on the bike and the team’s done an amazing job, so let’s see what this weekend brings us.”
And the Championship?
“Well, I mean, if it’s been done before, let’s try again. Of course, Pecco is in incredible form at the moment and he has been throughout the year, but in the last few races he’s been super good. We’re here, we’re ready to give our best and if it’s good enough, fantastic, and if it’s not, we’ll keep working at it.”
Credit : MotoGP Press Release
