Bagnaia: I had very good grip on the grass…

Francesco Bagnaia says he hopes to battle on track with the same success he has found in the MotoGP Virtual Race series after winning the second event by beating Maverick Vinales in a last-lap scrap which saw the Italian take to the grass for his race-winning overtake.

After finishing as runner-up to Alex Marquez in the inaugural MotoGP Virtual Race, Bagnaia went one better in the second event by winning the 10-lap race held at the Red Bull Ring on the MotoGP19 video game.

Bagnaia spent the majority of the race fighting Vinales for the lead, with the pair producing a fierce fight over the final lap which resulted in the Pramac Ducati rider dipping his virtual front wheel on to the grass at Turn 5 while overtaking the factory Yamaha rider.

Following a ‘race direction review’ into the incident, Bagnaia was confirmed as the winner to put himself as the top MotoGP rider in the Esports arena.

“I wasn’t expecting this victory, Maverick was very fast so I think it has been a good race, very enjoyable and very funny. I think tonight I can have a nice house party,” Bagnaia said from his home while remaining in lockdown.

“Today my strategy was not to crash as I did in Mugello as it made my race tough. I tried very hard to stay clear, just keeping the mind clear and riding my best. It is easier in real racing.

“I had a very good front grip on the grass so I could close the line. The problem was my rear tyre was overheated and Maverick could close the gap to me.

“The last lap was very nice as Maverick overtook me, I touched the grass at Turn 5 and I was thinking I was very close to crashing. It was a very nice battle so let’s see if in MotoGP we can fight again like this.”

Asked to compare racing in MotoGP and the video game, Bagnaia says the grip levels and tyre management needed are very similar but he finds it much harder to control in the Virtual Race without the sensations of being on the bike that he is used to.

“On the normal MotoGP bike when you heat the rear tyre too much you start to get pumping and it is difficult to manage,” he explained. “To cool down the rear tyre you have to be very calm on the exit and the gas and don’t touch the kerbs too much.

“On the virtual game it is important because if you heat it too much you lose a lot of grip and the first touch of gas you lose the rear and crash so it is important not to do this. In Mugello we raced with a medium so it overheated less, but in Austria we raced the soft so it was easier to overheat the tyre.”

With no return to actual MotoGP action until at least mid-June, Bagnaia is eager for another Virtual Race to take on Marquez after losing out to the new Repsol Honda rider in Mugello.

“We don’t have a classification in the standings yet, I would like to have the [championship] standings,” he said. “It would be nice to have a fight with Alex too who was a bit slower in this race but he was faster in Mugello. Hopefully, there will be another race.”

If MotoGP Virtual Race championship standings were to be created, Bagnaia would be leading on 45 points with Marquez in second place on 41 points and Vinales in third place on 36 points.

While a third MotoGP Virtual Race hasn’t been confirmed, another race is expected to be held in two weeks’ time to coincide with the launch of the new MotoGP video game.