Pecco Bagnaia achieved his dreams of becoming a MotoGP winner at MotorLand Aragon, and in some style, with Marc Marquez on his wheels for the entire 23-lap race.

The Ducati Lenovo rider launched from pole after a confident weekend in Spain to lead from lights to flag, but while the timesheets recorded a near seven-tenth margin as he crossed the line, the on-track story was dramatically different.

The closing laps saw Marquez analysing the Italian at every turn, with seven attacks on the lead attempted, and each one blocked. The skill at which Bagnaia held off the eight-time world champion had the paddock in raptures as he rode into Parc Fermé, with his VR46 Academy family and Ducati squad the most animated, and rightly so.

“Happy!” Bagnaia exclaimed as the celebrations died down and he realised the expectations of when that first victory would arrive were lifting. “My weight I think is 10 kilograms less. Is a great day for us, for my team, for Ducati. And for me, because every time I was close to win my first race, there was something that was missing,” he explained.

“Doing a race like this is something incredible, because Marc is always strong here, and it’s a track that he like a lot and his bike is very sweet. Today, the possibility to win was higher than other times but the battle was very strong and Marc tried seven times to overtake. I just tried every time to don’t let, just try to be every time in front. And when I see that he was overtaking me in turn 12 and was wide, I just say ‘last four corners, I have to do the best, the maximum’. And when I cross the line was a great emotion, I’m so happy about it!”

Bagnaia’s race pace was metronomic, but so was the talent behind him. His pitboard registering ‘+0’ ‘93’ on every pass.

“Was like a race in Moto2, always in front with plus nine, plus eight, plus seven, plus eight, like this,” he said by way of an explanation of how he dealt with the pressure. “Plus zero is more difficult, most of all because I was with Marc behind and I know that he is always trying to do a crazy overtake, that you are not expecting.

“So it was not easy, but I was knowing also that he was trying to overtake me just in the last part of the race because was useless before. Slipstream help a lot and to follow a rider is better. So I just tried to set the best pace possible, I was not expecting some pace like this because today was very hot. But then, the fight was nice also. I enjoy a lot to do, and to win like this also is more sweet I think.

“When I start, my feeling was great with the bike and I was knowing that Marc was the only one with a bit of pace better than me. When I started, I tried to push and I opened a gap, and I continue to push and we did an incredible pace, I think. I see that he was overtaking me in points that I was strong in the exit and in the last part of the race, with the rear tyre that was a bit down of grip, to cross the overtake was more easy.

“I was thinking that he was trying again, in turn 15. And I say, ‘I just hope to have done turn 13, 14, 15 maximum possible with the same time of the first laps’. And I was knowing that in the last corner was very difficult to overtake because I was braking so hard and I was very close on the line. If he was not overtaking me on turn 15 the possibility of winning was higher. And we did like this. So, I can say this is an incredible day.

“I was not expecting to be so strong in this track because last year I struggle a lot. From the FP1 I didn’t touch anything on the bike and everything was okay, it was perfect, and to win today is incredible. I’m so happy.”

The cool down lap saw the VR46 Academy graduate celebrating with his mentor Valentino Rossi, as well as Celestino Vietti, amongst others. The Italian acknowledges the importance of the support network as part of his journey to success.

“This victory is for the Academy for sure,” he said proudly. “Because you work, you’re working every day trying to be everyday better. They help us a lot, so every day they ask to us what to do better and we tried, we think to be better every day.

“Vale yesterday night was saying to me, he was telling me that today was my day, because he was looking at my pace, I was strong. He said that Marc was the fastest one but also that me, I was the second one with the best pace. So he said to me that, and I have to give a hug to him now, because he just said to go in the race with hard/soft. Yesterday, when I was going away from his motorhome, he was saying, hard/soft, hard/soft, hard/soft, because last race I change the front tyre, and in the first Austria my tyre choice was different, so he was saying that,” he laughed.

“They help us a lot. Carlo [Casabianca], Uccio, Gianluca [Falcioni], Vale and Albi [Tebaldi] are always with us so this victory is also for them.

“To be at Misano is always great,” he continued turning his attention to the coming race next weekend. “I ride a lot this year in Misano to train and I would like to do the same weekend of last year, because it was very competitive. Tonight I would like to celebrate a bit with my friends, but it’s true also that we have just two days before going in the paddock again so we don’t have time to do a lot of celebration, is better to not do it.”

Reflecting on his journey in the MotoGP paddock and the wait to achieve his maiden win, Bagnaia is realistic.

“I think that every rider needs their time,” he explained. “I struggled a lot the first year, apart from Phillip Island that I finished fourth but fourth with 12-15 seconds from the first one. The second year started well but I was not so fast sometimes, and this year I was fast, but sometimes I was without possibility to win. Because in Portimao with the yellow flag in the qualifying, I missed the opportunity to fight maybe for the victory. In Mugello I crash for my mistakes. So every time I was missing something and this weekend, we have worked perfectly I think.

“So will not be easy to make, again, a weekend like this because not touching anything on the bike is something incredible for us. I would like to be, again, fast like this in Misano, is a track that I like, I will try again but for sure after these two years in MotoGP and we are now in the factory like this, is a great emotion for me.”