It’s no news that Valentino Rossi and Pecco Bagnaia have a strong friendship, much of which is due to the time they spent together in the former rider’s academy. Il Dottore has also been a strong “ally” of the #1, and hasn’t missed an opportunity to give valuable advice to the Ducati rider.
After the title was confirmed, Bagnaia spoke about some of the conversations he had with Rossi just after the Sprint race on saturday: ‘Vale asked me several times why I chose the medium tyre [for the Sprint] and I was asking myself the same thing. I didn’t understand why I chose the medium rear tyre for the race, but it was useful because this sunday I was competitive in the second half of the race’.
And then he revealed how the former driver advised him to take it easy in this final title race:
– He just told me to make sure I was calm and that I understood the situation, and that he [Jorge Martin] was on the worst side, he needed to win, and even with a win from him I needed to be fifth, and with the pace I was having it was a good result. It was fast to be in the top five, and to stay calm.