MotoGP 2023 Austria, Bagnaia: “I want to win, it’s not the time to think about the championship” (MotoGP 2023 Austria, Bagnaia: “Voglio vincere, non è il momento di pensare al campionato”)

Agosto 18, 2023

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MotoGP Red Bull Ring 2023 – Francesco Bagnaia concluded the Austrian Friday with the third best time and good feelings for tomorrow. Different is the situation of his teammate Enea Bastianini, relegated to the back and victim of a slide.

Bagnaia’s advice to Bezzecchi about his future
Marco Bezzecchi’s Ducati concluded Friday in Austria with the best time, preceding Francesco Bagnaia by two positions, who finished third at the end of the day. The reigning champion, who won here last year, pays almost three tenths of a delay from the top: “The condition of the track is better than last year, we started immediately with a higher rhythm and we know the track better, that’s why we were stronger. It will be important to have a good qualifying tomorrow.”

Among the rivals to beat, there is certainly Bezzecchi: “He is going very fast, like Maverick (Vinales, second) and Brad Binder (fourth). Aleix (Espargaro) is in a good position. On this track, it is difficult to make a difference by force of circumstances, you have to be very consistent with the tires.” Last year Pecco arrived with the goal of gaining points on Fabio Quartararo, this year instead he arrives as the championship leader: “I’m having fun and enjoying the moment. Last year was more difficult, we had to win by force. This year we can afford to have a little margin, but we’re not holding onto it. I want to win and stay ahead, and it’s not time to think about the championship.” Bezzecchi is an important piece in the rider market at the moment, and he must choose whether to stay in the Mooney VR46 team or switch to the Pramac team in 2024, and Bagnaia, his friend and teammate in the VR46 Riders Academy, said: “I advise him to do what he feels like. These are things he knows inside himself. He has to be calm, he already has the bike.”

“It’s a very delicate situation” On the other hand, Friday was uphill for Enea Bastianini, who also slid and finished with the sixteenth time. The Romagna rider admitted: “It could have gone better. It wasn’t a great day. It started well, but as soon as I had to push a little harder, it was as if the usual problems came back: difficulty in stopping and in cornering. By instinct, I tend not to ride clean anymore. In the end, I also crashed when I thought I was feeling better with that bike.” The Romagna rider, who missed several races due to an injury in the early part of the season, said: “I have to focus on taking the race more as a test because I have to find the sensations that I am missing. Today I also tried to aim for the result, but that’s not what I can aspire to at the moment. The thing that worries me the most is trying to understand why we make so many changes and it doesn’t change anything for me. I always feel more or less in the same place. It’s a very delicate situation. The goal in the Sprint will be to find good sensations, when they come, I’m sure the results will come too.”

Here is the 2023 calendar of the top class and the championship standings.

MotoGP news – The first day of testing at the Red Bull Ring ended with Marco Bezzecchi ahead of everyone, closely followed by Maverick Vinales. Bagnaia is third, followed by Brad Binder’s KTM. Fabio Quartararo is ninth.

MotoGP news Austria fp1 – On the Austrian track, Johann Zarco was the fastest in the first free practice session, followed by Fabio Quartararo and Maverick Vinales. Francesco Bagnaia recorded the eighth fastest time, while Marc Marquez finished eighteenth.

MotoGP news – It is a very difficult season for Marc Marquez, the Spaniard has not been able to finish any race on Sundays so far, and the idea of retirement has crossed his mind several times.