Francesco Bagnaia was one of the strongest contenders in the main race of the Australian MotoGP Grand Prix, finishing in second place. Despite his confidence in the sprint race and considering that an opportunity was lost due to the cancellation, he believes that it was the only possible solution in the face of the strong gusts of wind.
The Italian man said to the press that this was a missed chance, when he was ready to fight at the top: ‘For me it’s always a lost occasion when we lose a race, because this morning in the warm-up I was struggling, but we found we were having a little problem on the bike and it was fixed for the race. So I was prepared to fight for the top positions. It was an occasion to maybe gain points or lose points, but for me the balance was positive to start the race and I was positive’.
According to Bagnaia, the conditions during the warm-up were at the limit, but the wind made it too dangerous to race at the scheduled time.: ‘This morning the situation was OK to ride – a little bit on the limit, but it was OK. Then, during the Moto3 race it was becoming worse and worse and in Moto2 in nine laps we saw ten crashes. And Celestino [Vietti], who was the last one, has crashed due to the wind in that first braking, pushed out by the wind. We saw an umbrella in the middle of the track, so the wind was quite crazy. For me if the wind was constant was not a big problem. The problem are the gusts that are very intense and also because in the straight we are in a tunnel and it finishes when you start to brake. And with a MotoGP arriving at 330km/h also on wet it can become very dangerous. For me the decision is the correct one. It’s bad for all the fans here because they were still there and for us because we want to race every time. But in this case I think the race direction have done a good job about the weekend’.
Asked whether the cancellation was better for him with less risk in these weather conditions and one race less, the defending champion replied: ‘I’m always optimistics and I have a great confidence in myself, so I was thinking it was possible to gain more points, because my feeling this year on wet is good and it was possible to gain more points – or lose points. So for me it’s always not positive to cancel races, but today was the only choice’.