Pecco Bagnaia closes the race in Japan without points after recovering from a crash on the last lap: an unforgivable mistake for the Ducati rider.
The Motegi circuit proved to be difficult terrain for Pecco Bagnaia, but not for the Ducati Desmosedici GP who also wins this stage in Japan with Jack Miller and also places Jorge Martin on the podium, while the Piedmontese remedies the fifth “zero” of the season by falling on the last lap. A mocking mistake that makes him throw away 7 very precious points for the world championship standings, with Fabio Quartararo which moves away at +18 after the eighth place at the Twin Ring.
The Motegi challenge reiterates that the points do not always flow to the fastest rider, but also (or above all) to those who make less mistakes. Fabio’s fall at Aragon has reopened the world games, Pecco’s slip in Japan returns part of what he had earned from the fall of his Yamaha rival a week ago. There is no time to despair, the caravan of the MotoGP he is already moving air and luggage to Thailand where he takes to the track on Friday for the first day of free practice.
Bagnaia’s error costs 7 points
There is so much anger and bitterness in the box corner of Pecco Bagnaia who still cannot manage certain situations of particular physical, mental and technical stress. After four wins and a podium in a row he found himself having to chase, it was a matter of getting the best possible result at home, but on the 24th and last lap he ended up on the asphalt. He applauds himself ironically, apologizes to the team, but it doesn’t change the situation.
He wanted to try at all costs to overtake Fabio Quartararo, instead he recovered a blow to the stomach in the middle of the race towards the MotoGP title. “I wasted some time in each acceleration phase. But I was very strong on the brakes and in this case I was a bit too optimistic – says the Piedmontese rider at the end of the Motegi race -. Luckily I didn’t touch Fabio by falling and I didn’t ruin his race“.
Starting from 12th place on the grid, Pecco had to deal not only with the increase in the pressure of the front tire. The Ducati rider is not looking for any excuse, not used to fighting in the back group in this championship: “We weren’t ready for this … I want to make it clear that this is not what I fell for. I crashed because I made a mistake and I have already apologized to my team… Maybe I was too ambitious. If I had stayed behind Fabio or had waited for a better opportunity to overtake, in hindsight it would have certainly been better.“.
