Francesco Bagnaia showed his champion’s fibre again today at Phillip Island, not least because of the way he approached the race, cool and strategic but also calculating and waiting for the right timing. The rider admitted that at the start he saw the competition ‘maybe pushing too much’, and in the end he waited for his chance to attack, with Johann Zarco’s manoeuvre helping him.
In parc ferme, the world champion commented on the race with a clear smile: ‘I saw that the guys at the front of the race were pushing a lot, maybe too much. I was there [near the front] and my rear tyre was already spinning a lot and I just tried to stay calm throughout the race, I knew it was too early and finally I saw that we were catching Jorge Martín. Then Johann [Zarco] was very, very strong in the final part of the race and I just tried to follow him and when he overtook Martín I tried to use his overtaking to get ahead as well and it was perfect’.
And then he was happy to increase the gap in the championship: ‘I’m very happy, it was another very difficult weekend from the start and we improved a lot. We worked hard with the medium tyre and this podium is fantastic and we’ve picked up a few more points’.