BAGNAIA: ‘VALENTINO IS LIKE MY BIG BROTHER’
Newly crowned Moto2 champ now ready for MotoGP in 2019
It’s 5am on race day morning in Malaysia and Pecco Bagnaia is wide awake. His stomach is churning like a cement mixer and nerves have crushed his appetite to the point he can’t contemplate breakfast and his traditional pre-race meal of pasta and rice is also off the menu. Match point number one to lift the 2018 Moto2 World Champion came and went with a surprising surrender to 12th in Australia, which was one of the few times all season he missed the podium.
To make sure stage fright didn’t consume him again in Sepang’s penultimate race, Bagnaia had a heart-to-heart with SKY VR46 owner and mentor Valentino Rossi. Bagnaia said: “Valentino is like a big brother and he speaks to me like a friend, not like a boss. He helps so much because he has experienced almost every kind of scenario you can imagine. He told me that whenever he was fighting for a world title he just treated every race the same. When I got to Australia with the first match point I was too nervous and I was putting myself under too much pressure. After the race, I spoke with Valentino and I understood that I have to keep calm and be the rider I was all season.” Third in Malaysia meant the title was his, but a calmer and more composed Bagnaia still had a few anxious moments.
He said: “Once the race started I felt completely calm. I felt like I had done all year and I was at ease for the first nine laps. But then I saw there were ten laps remaining and all kinds of things started to go through my mind. I kept talking to myself saying ‘please don’t crash’ in every corner, even though I felt in complete control. I came out of the final corner and saw my team had the board with World Champion on it and it was an incredible feeling. I started crying and was full of emotion.”
Reflecting on his breakthrough season, the 21-year-old cited four key factors for becoming the first rider to win for Rossi’s squad. One came before a wheel was even turned in anger in February when he confirmed his 2019 switch to MotoGP with Pramac Ducati. “Signing for MotoGP so early was key for me. The other riders were having to think about 2019 during
‘I saw my team with the board and started crying’
the season but I didn’t want that distraction,” said Bagnaia. Second was a technical decision to switch from WP to Öhlins suspension for his Kalex chassis. He said: “In 2017 I was always struggling on the brakes but with Öhlins I felt better immediately and had more confidence and trust in the front. It took me just one day with Öhlins at the first test in Jerez to be faster than I’d ever been around that track.”
Third was his brilliant win in Austin, which had previously been a bogey venue for the Italian. “Austin gave me a lot of confidence and belief that I could fight for the title. Being as fast I was on that track showed me how strong I was and how high my potential was. It was in Austin that I was convinced that I could fight for the World Championship,” he added.
The final piece of the puzzle falling into place was post-Brno when a victory by closest rival Miguel Oliveira put the Portuguese rider two-points clear in the title race, prompting a change in strategy and a win next time out in Austria. Bagnaia said: “After Brno we decided to change our approach and strategy. Before Austria we were changing the bike too much but from Austria I raced with a more free and clear mind.”