Bagnaia, Rins, Martin private chat revealed: "I almost took you out!"
Rins to Martin: Amazing, man. I’m so happy for you.
Rins to Bagnaia: Pecco, I almost took you out going into Turn 12 on the second lap!
Bagnaia: The bike wasn’t braking, was it?
Rins: No.
Martin: When I was coming up behind…
Bagnaia: On Turns 1, 11 and 12 he didn’t brake.
Martin: No grip at all. I overtook everyone because they went long. That’s how I got past Aleix Espargaro. I was struggling at the end. Aleix was just behind me and I wasn’t switched on! When I was able, I tried to escape. He got past me on the penultimate corner but I braked late and blocked him. He lost the line.
Bagnaia: I hope it is colder [on Sunday] because it’s draining when it’s so hot. It’s hard to keep going.
Martin: At that rhythm - boom, boom, boom…
Rins: What was your time at the end, Pecco?
Bagnaia: 2’03.565.
Rins: I got a 2’03. 803, I couldn’t give any more.
Bagnaia: On the last two laps I wasn’t pushing.
Martin: Me too, but I had Aleix behind me!
Bagnaia: From lap one to the next gap we went from 1.2s to 2.4s.
Martin: Because all of them lost the line. Aleix was second and he went wide.
Rins: Did you like my braking on the last lap?
Bagnaia: I braked late at Turn 1! I lost the line!
Rins: Me too!
Martin: I was 15th at the first turn. Loads of riders missed, so I took advantage. It was tough with the hard tyre, I don’t know why. I couldn’t get it to the right temperature.
Bagnaia: On the second lap it was good. Not the first.
Martin: I went for it on the second. I got a 2’03.2 and…
Bagnaia: On the fast corners?
Rins: I liked the game of cat and mouse.
Bagnaia: The what?!
Rins: In qualifying.
Martin: Unbelievable.
Martin: I need to eat and drink…
James was a sports journalist at Sky Sports for a decade covering everything from American sports, to football, to F1.
