Francesco Bagnaia Reflects on Japanese MotoGP Victory and Pedro Acosta’s Unfortunate Crash: A Champion’s Perspective

Francesco Bagnaia Comments: Pedro Acosta Aimed to Pass, Yet…

MotoGP Titleholder Responds to Pedro Acosta's Accident

Francesco Bagnaia detailed his efforts in the early laps of the Japanese MotoGP, describing how he exerted himself to fend off a challenge from Pedro Acosta.

On Sunday at Motegi, Bagnaia led from start to finish to secure his fourth sprint and grand prix double victory of 2024, marking his eighth main race triumph of the season.

Tech3's newcomer Acosta began the race in the leading position but quickly experienced a crash.

"When he saw it displayed on the dashboard, he understood that Acosta had been in an accident," he remarked.

"When my team informed me that it wasn't Pedro involved, but rather Jorge, it all made sense to me."

At the beginning of the race, I found myself needing to exert more effort to keep pace with Pedro. He was striving hard to reclaim his position. When you're trailing behind others by less than half a second, controlling the front becomes quite challenging.

"It seems he intended to pass, but it wasn't simple."

"I focused on keeping the distance from Jorge as effectively as I could. It was challenging since he was catching up in the final laps, but in the end, we performed exceptionally well."

At one point, Bagnaia was nearly two seconds ahead, but in the final laps, Jorge Martin applied pressure on his fellow Ducati rider. However, a tense moment at Turn 3 caused Martin to abandon his pursuit.

Bagnaia expressed confidence in managing the situation, though he was "hoping" that Martin would face similar tire issues as he was experiencing.

Bagnaia commented, "I thought I had everything managed, but when he posted that lap time near the end, I was hoping it would mark the conclusion of everything, as I had already reached the point where everything was wrapped up."

"When I attempted to speed up to enhance my pace, my back tire didn't cooperate as expected. I was striving to stay competitive and avoid falling too far behind."

At the Japanese round, Bagnaia displayed impressive speed right from the start, a stark contrast to his performance at the Indonesian GP the previous week. He hopes this serves as a "template" for the remainder of the season.

He mentioned that he had anticipated facing greater challenges.

"We had a flawless performance from the beginning of the weekend, and I want to use this as a benchmark for future events. I believe we executed everything perfectly, and during the race today, our approach was seamless and effective."

"I feel pleased and grateful. I’d like to express my appreciation to my team for their excellent work. Now, let's focus on what comes next."

Trailing Martin by only 10 points in the championship standings with four races remaining, Bagnaia emphasizes the importance of perseverance in his quest for a third title. He also points out that 2024 marks the first year since his Moto2 championship win in 2018 that he has achieved victory in eight grands prix within a single season.

"We need to have faith in it," he stated.

"We must remain persistent. I am committed to consistently putting forth my best effort."

"Achieving eight victories in a single season is truly noteworthy. This is my first instance of accomplishing this since 2018 when I secured eight wins in Moto2. We must continue to put in the effort."

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