Marc Márquez’s return to victory was challenging. The rider emerged victorious this Sunday at the Spanish MotoGP Grand Prix, but had to withstand strong pressure from Marc Márquez (Gresini/Ducati) in the final stages.
During a press conference, the Italian commented: ‘The battle with Marc was certainly intense. You know perfectly well that when you are fighting with Marc, you have to put your elbows out and it was a good fight for me. When we touched, usually the one on the inside loses direction and goes in the opposite direction. Marc lifted a bit and I was smart to keep my angle, because otherwise, it would have been more or less the same as what happened yesterday. But everything went perfectly and the second time he tried, I just tried to respond and open the gap for the final laps‘.
Asked if he feels comfortable with the close battles with Márquez, Bagnaia assured that he has no problem and is aware that sometimes the intensity can be higher: ‘For me, yes, because it was not what happened in Portimão, what happened to me yesterday. Sometimes, the fights are more intense and we can have contacts as well because it is harder to make a normal overtaking move at this moment. Everyone is very strong on braking, on entry, and it’s easy when you brake hard that the rider on the inside is trying to overtake a bit wider and you have to try to close the line. It’s something that can happen at this moment‘.
Urged to remember his first victory, in the 2021 Aragon GP in which he also surpassed Márquez, the champion of 2022 and 2023 replied: ‘This time I managed to have a bit of margin for the last laps. Because in Aragon we were at the same pace and I think in the last laps he was a bit stronger. But today I believe I had this little extra for the last two laps‘.
