‘Nibbling away at Quartararo’
Purely from a spectators’ point of view, I thought it was a boring race, but from a technical point of view it was incredible. The laptimes were insane and there’s no way in a million years that you or I can really understand what they’re doing to be able to achieve that. How late they’re braking, how millimetre perfect they are.
It’s a shame there was carnage at the start. Bastianini looked like he was going to end up on his head in every corner – no wonder the Ducati management were pacing up and down in the box! If he’d have taken Bagnaia out I think they’d have torn up his new contract. Bastianini did the fastest lap of the race on the last lap which included a mistake at a track that isn’t forgiving – those boys really are super-human.
It was great for Dovi, too. He finished 12th, which was icing on the cake of a really solid career.
The championship is getting a lot tighter now. Bagnaia is definitely nibbling away at Quartararo. Fabio will be having a few thoughts about that, but he’s a pro and he’s the world champion. And Bagnaia isn’t going to carry on and win the rest of the races, is he? We’re going to see some rain, some scorching temperatures and some serious humidity. Someone is going to make a mistake. Hopefully it’ll go down to the wire and it’ll be a straight fight. It’s just a shame the last round has to be at Valencia. I always think it’s weird that an epic championship which goes to such incredible circuits can be decided on a go kart track like that.
And lastly, hats off to Viñales. He was racy from the start, he got aggressive and made some hard moves when it counted. Fair play, he looks happy and he’s riding good. Let’s be honest, I’ve flogged him to death in this column, but we’ve always known he’s got the minerals. You never know what’s going on in teams behind closed doors. In the past it’s been like the planets lined up, they just weren’t in the right order. He’s obviously fallen on his arse, but sometimes there is nothing wrong with getting a rude awakening.
‘No wonder the Ducati bosses were pacing’