The Emilia Romagna GP offered us plenty of twists and turns and a superb victory for Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) after a late pass on Championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing), while Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) crashed on his 100th GP in the elite.
Sunday was one of the craziest days of 2024, and here are the juiciest statements from this 14th round!
“I think that next time, if I have to do the same thing, there will be no consequences, I hope.”
Enea Bastianini’s late-race attack on Jorge Martin has divided the paddock, with some calling it excessive, while others say it was just good old-fashioned fighting! Here’s what the drivers on the grid thought of the move.
Jorge Martin: “For sure, now I think we are clearer about the race direction’s ideas for the future. So I think that next time, if I have to do the same thing, there will be no consequences, I hope.”
“Even Marc Marquez thinks he should have given up the position!”
Enea Bastianini: “I saw that the only chance to attack him on the last lap was at Turn 4. He tried to close the door. I was a bit on the limit with the front, but I took the corner and won the race.”
Marc Márquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™): “Enea was not able to keep the bike inside the circuit, so for me he should have given up the position. But hey, it’s the race direction who decides.”
Francesco Bagnaia: “I think it was a race overtake. Nothing different from what Jorge has done in the past with me last season in India and Qatar. I think it’s normal.”
Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team): “If you push another driver off the track and you pass, you don’t take the corner.”
“If Martin does the same thing in Indonesia, I expect the same treatment. For Martin, Pecco, me and everyone. Just that.”
Miguel Oliveira (Trackhouse Racing): “The rules are clear: when you are in direct battle with a rider and you go into the green, you have to give up the position. The fact is that he didn’t go into the green because it’s not painted green there, but he didn’t take the corner. It’s an overtaking on the last lap, everyone is fighting to the nearest centimetre and it’s difficult to overtake with a MotoGP™ machine, so you have to take every opportunity.”
“If it’s for the win, I don’t mind, but I’ll let the stewards decide. The rules are clear, so he’s not penalised because the paint is not green, but blue, or whatever. If you overtake in another corner and you touch the green part, you have to give up the position. He knew exactly where to overtake!”
Jack Miller: “It’s a racing incident, a battle on the last lap. If you want to look at Zarco or me on the last lap at Turn 14 or Di Giannantonio or Mir at Turn 14… that’s racing. It happens all over the grid. It’s the last lap of a race.”
Aleix Espargaró (Aprilia Racing): “I don’t really have any words, because one driver touched the other, and both went off the track.”
“I don’t know what was ‘normal’ today.”
Reigning World Champion Pecco Bagnaia had a frustrating day at Misano. Despite starting from pole and leading the early laps, the #1 was quickly dropped before finding his rhythm from third. The Turin native was closing in on Enea Bastianini and Jorge Martín before crashing at Turn 8. After the race, the Ducati rider was at a loss to explain what had happened.
Pecco Bagnaia: “I don’t know what was ‘normal’ today.”
“I didn’t brake hard. I braked 18 meters before the fastest lap I did and I still lost the front end as if I had hit a bump that wasn’t there. It’s strange, but everything was strange from the beginning.”
“This is the first race that I have fully enjoyed”
At Honda, Luca Marini, Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) and Johann Zarco (CASTROL LCR Honda) all finished in the points, and Lucini was particularly pleased with his performance. The Italian’s 12th place was his best result of the season, and it seems the RC213V is making progress.
Luca Marini: “I am very happy, very satisfied. I think it is the first race that I have fully enjoyed. It was a positive race. We found a good package with all the improvements that we have made to the bike.”
“The most important one is the fairing. The aerodynamics are working very, very well now. There are also some small changes that give us a better feeling. The swingarm and other things have also worked very well. If I had to choose the most important one I would say the fairing, but it is a new package that works very well and I think we have gained two to five tenths compared to the old one.”
“I was out of gas”
The weekend was also very encouraging for Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™). The Yamaha star recorded his second best qualifying of the year and scored points in the Tissot Sprint and the main race with two seventh places. However, the Frenchman came very close to a major disappointment!
Fabio Quartararo: “In the penultimate corner I had no fuel left, so I tried to do everything I could. I’m super happy with the race, the only thing that’s quite frustrating is that we have a slow engine and we can’t finish the races.”
“This is by far our best weekend, but we have to see what kind of results we get overseas. If we have the same kind of weekend in Indonesia, we will make a big step forward. I don’t know if we have made significant progress or not, but I feel a lot better in my riding, so I think we can be happy with what we have done in the last few weeks.”
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