Bagnaia: “If we look at the past I’m always one of my main opponents”

The reigning MotoGP champion made it two wins from two after backing up his sprint race victory with an even more devastating performance in the Grand Prix.

Leader of every lap, Bagnaia controlled the pace ahead of Martin and responded to any attack the Pramac rider attempted to make.

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Bagnaia, who has lost out on wins and podium finishes before due to crashes, was in no mood to let his home round become another one of those moments.

While Martin was always within reach of Bagnaia had a mistake been made, the Italian was asked whether he was as big a rival to himself as any other rider, which drew this response. 

"If we look at the past then yes! I’m always one of my opponents but I think it’s the same for everybody. 

"Today, Jorge was pushing a lot and so I put a lot of effort into not giving him the chance to be close enough to try and overtake. 

"I knew that he was with the soft rear and if he was with the front he could open a gap if he was pushing. Then, to recover a gap is always difficult because you are always on the limit with the front. It’s easier to commit a mistake. 

"So today, I just didn’t want to be with someone else and with zero gap. I pushed a lot at the start to have it and maybe sacrificed a bit the rear tyre for the last laps. 

"It was finished completely. I was dropping tenth by tenth but it was the best strategy because I knew that Jorge was pushing a lot and that the medium would have a longer life than the soft one." 

With one win already in his pocket, Bagnaia’s ruthless pace at the front was a combination of him and the bike working brilliantly, but also because the factory Ducati rider claimed to be on a mission to deliver in front of his home fans.

Describing his emotions after the win, Bagnaia added: "Happiness, for sure. A lot of happiness and I don’t know if it’s the same for everybody but when I’m racing at home, I feel as though I’m on a mission. 

"This is great because I really want to give something to them. The results are the best way to give something to them. 

"When you achieve a result like this - a pole position and two race wins - you feel a lot of happiness. You feel like your mission is complete. This weekend was very important for me to do what we did."