Written by Isha Reshmi Mohan
The celebrations for the Márquez duo were loud all weekend, while the expected rivalry was supposed to feature Francesco Bagnaia instead of the Gresini rider, especially with Jorge Martin absent.
When asked about the expectations to stop the Màrquez family show, Pecco said: “I wasn’t even close to stop them. I was like in the cinema. I was there behind them…”
He further explained how he tried to close the gap when possible but eventually had to ease off as he noticed his front tires starting to heat up.
It wasn’t an easy weekend for the Italian rider, as he felt the Friday session revealed a gap that was meant to be addressed during the test sessions. This led him to stay up on Saturday, but by then, it was already too late.
With that, he tried to work with what he had, already expressing his dislike for the hard tire used in yesterday's sprint race. He had initially chosen the hard tire for better grip during braking and to avoid excessive movement, but the soft tire ultimately worked better for the race.
He then discussed Marquez’s performance in the race, feeling that his teammate had played with him. When it was time for Marquez to make the switch, he created a 2.3-second gap within just three laps. Pecco also mentioned the need to focus on closing the gap, as the upcoming races favor Marc.
In this race, while he felt confident in braking at corners one, two, and twelve, he specifically noticed the gap in sectors two and three - corners 4, 5, and 6 with Marc, and corners 7 and 8 with Alex.
Reflecting on his experience from last season, Pecco acknowledged the importance of maximizing points when possible. He pushed as much as he could today, and moving forward, the Italian rider will be expected to capitalize on others' mistakes and accumulate as many points as he can.
