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Spanish MotoGP | Bagnaia answers critics, soothes ego with vindicating Jerez win

Pecco Bagnaia, Ducati Corse, Ducati GP23, Spanish MotoGP, Jerez, 2023 MotoGP, portrait, parc ferme, celebration, team [credit/ 2Snap]

Pecco Bagnaia has labelled his hard fought victory in the Spanish MotoGP at Jerez as his ‘best’ yet after putting his dramas at COTA firmly behind him to bounce right back to the top of the podium and the overall standings.

Arriving on European soil under some scrutiny after crashing out of the lead in the USA two weeks earlier, the hangover of that abrupt early exit on an otherwise dominant Texan weekend appeared to linger as action got underway in Spain.

After failing to light up the timesheets in Practice, Bagnaia found himself languishing in Q1 on Saturday morning, but after safely making it through to Q2, thereafter his weekend steadily gathered momentum.

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Going on to qualify fifth, Bagnaia kept his nose clean to pick his way up to second position in the Sprint Race. It was a result he appeared destined to repeat in the main feature after losing time to leader Brad Binder when he was forced to cede second position back to Jack Miller on the instruction of Race Stewards because of an aggressive overtake.

Trailing the South African by almost a second with five laps to go, it soon transpired that Bagnaia was simply saving his best for last, ramping up the pace with a new fastest lap with four revolutions to go to get right onto the tail of the KTM.

Carrying his momentum through to a neat pass for the lead with just over three laps remaining, Bagnaia held firm to the flag to collect his fourth win of the season, his second in the full length GP.

Almost the reverse of his COTA endeavour that started strongly before concluding on a sour note, Bagnaia admits the snowball effect of his Jerez weekend made his last gasp victory all the more sweet.

“In terms of the weekend, looking at what happened, it was the best one [race], close to the one at Silverstone but better because the fight was so incredible,” he told the MotoGP.com website. “I enjoyed the race, and even this weekend, because I think this weekend can help us grow as a team. 

“It wasn’t easy because the KTM was incredible so I just tried to be perfect and precise on everything and manage the tyres. A win here is very special, so I am very happy.

A timely victory for Bagnaia - who makes back into the lead of the 2023 MotoGP standings - in the wake of two consecutive main GP crashes, the Italian says he will glean plenty of confidence from his well-judged performance.

“This was more for me, for my ego… it is too easy to criticise from outside and you don’t know from inside what happened, so this is a race from the #1 and I am very happy to bounce back from COTA with a win.”

CLICK HERE to view 2023 MotoGP World Championship standings after Spanish MotoGP

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