Francesco Bagnaia finished the weekend in third position, a great result for the Italian rider after an ugly crash at the Catalunya GP left him with a very limited physical condition in his right leg.
Asked what it was like to be in severe physical difficulty and achieve a very positive result for the championship over the weekend in the Sprint and in Sunday’s race, Bagnaia replied: ‘ I want to thank the whole team for their support, I’m proud of them, I gave everything today, I still tried to overtake Jorge (Martin) a few times but he was much better than me physically. After 15 laps I was completely destroyed and it was impossible to do anything more. When Marco (Bezzecchi) overtook me, I had some time to breathe even though I knew Dani (Pedrosa) was coming to take my position. In the end I just tried to do my best and finish on the podium, maybe if I was in good physical condition it would have been a different story.
With Jorge Martin winning both races at Misano this weekend, Francesco Bagnaia sees his lead in the championship shrinking and the pressure mounting. The Italian rider joked a little about the situation and talked about how Jorge should feel about the pressure of fighting for the world title: “He’s got a lot of pressure on him, a lot. If we start to realize that he’s too close, we’ll lower his power. Speaking more seriously, Pecco said: ‘I think he has to be as relaxed as he has been, it will be a good fight until the end for sure.