Francesco Bagnaia: “There was a lot of contact, it was intense”

The 26-lap race was a battle of surviving the heat and conserving the rear tyre, something the top three did better than anyone else.

Bagnaia was caught up in early battles with both Marquez brothers, Luca Marini and Brad Binder which made saving his rear tyre very hard.

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But still, the reigning world champion was able to close in on Martin and Binder as the race went on before coming close to victory.

Bagnaia said: “I was very honestly very happy that my start was perfect. I was able to do the race by controlling the rear tyre.

“Before we finished the first lap the battle commenced, there was a lot of contact, a lot of battles. It was intense.

“I didn’t have time to manage the rear tyre, I had to push a lot to close the gap. Unluckily I arrived to the group not in the best shape with the rear tyre.

“In any case, we managed to recover and finished in second position thanks to Brad touching the green on the last lap.

“If I was close to the overtake, it was the best of the past few years! Overtaking two from the outside on the last corner was great.

“It was normal, when you’re outside, the rider on the inside releases the brakes and touches you. It’s normal. I expected it.”

Prior to the last lap beginning, Bagnaia made a very bold attempt at taking the lead away from Martin when he rode around the outside of the Spaniard.

However, Martin positioned himself perfectly on the inside which also allowed Binder to regain second.

Bagnaia added: “I tried! Exiting from Corner 1 and 3, I was losing a lot. I gained in Sector 3 but not enough to be close. 

“I expected Brad to overtake Jorge but he didn’t have the perfect attempt. It was difficult for me.”

Over the course of this weekend Bagnaia has seen his championship lead go from 27 to 13 points. 

Discussing the title battle, Bagnaia added: “Let’s see. We started the overseas races with a gap of three points, now it’s 13. It is positive. 

“We found, finally, my top feeling. Today I was able to brake hard, to fight, to be strong all weekend. 

“I am angry about yesterday, I missed the start and lost too many points from when I was fast. We must improve in the sprint race and in the time-attack.”