The two Ducatisti on the eve of the Italian GP. Pecco, limping due to his fracture in Le Mans, doesn’t feel impaired: “I struggle more to walk than to ride the bike”. Bez 1 point behind him in the World Cup: “Don’t worry, we’re at the beginning”
– shoe shop (florence)
The Frecce Tricolori at Mugello are not only those that are already hovering in the sky of the Tuscan track to prepare for Sunday’s exhibition before the start of the MotoGP: on the track, Italy has other arrows, tiny ‘f’, to try to make the the anthem of Mameli in the home match. Just look at the standings, with Pecco Bagnaia leading the World Championship on his official Ducati, with a single point advantage over Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati team VR46).
side by side
—
The two are side by side in the conference and joke as if they were at the Ranch where they often train together on the evening spent in Milan ‘MotoGP on Stage in Milan’. “An experience to be repeated – says Bagnaia -, it was nice to bring so many people to a city where the MotoGP has never arrived. Moving on to Mugello, it’s not a race like any other, it’s a special appointment, both as an Italian and because it’s one of my favorite tracks.”
crutch, but…
—
The World Championship leader arrives there limping, with a crutch assisting him to relieve the weight on his right ankle injured in the talus after the Le Mans collision with Maverick Vinales (seated to his left). “A few days after the accident in France, I had pain just when I came here to train. I had myself examined and the fracture emerged: I’m not 100% but it’s not something that can affect this race weekend. I rode the Panigale here at Mugello and on a smaller track and my ankle bothers me more walking than riding the bike”, explains Pecco.
around 2024
—
At his side, on the right, is Marco Bezzecchi, authoritatively second in the World Championship with his Ducati GP22. “I don’t know if I’ll have new parts here, I still have to talk about it with the team, but I have total support from Ducati, I feel very supported and there’s nothing I can complain about – says Bez -. 2024? My goal is to have a factory team and if it were Ducati it would be better, but I don’t know what I’ll do next year. Now I’m just enjoying this moment and I want to keep getting good results.” With two race victories already on Sunday, it was truly a brilliant start. But no dizziness. “More pressure? No. The pressure is the same as always, that of the races: I’ve had more in other circumstances”.
Bastianini is back
—
Enea Bastianini is also with them who, having received the medical ok to be able to compete, is now as if he were starting his season on the factory Ducati. “After the anger in Jerez, when I thought I was in better shape to be able to compete, now it’s nice to finally be able to come back here, right in my home race – says Enea -. I feel fit, even if not 100%, and motivated: the the problem could be fatigue at a distance”. The injury that has stopped him so far, a fractured right scapula, didn’t take him to surgery, but kept him away from the weight room. “I started pushing for two weeks, before that I was stationary for a long time and therefore I’m not in very good shape in terms of strength. The GP will be a good test in particular, but I can ride relaxed. Goals? I don’t have any, let’s say the top 10 but above all that of being able to have good sensations and be able to give the team the information they need”. From tomorrow, with the two sessions that immediately define access to Q1 and Q2, our tricolor arrows will start circling the track.
© REPRODUCTION RESERVED