Bagnaia: Objective was not to win the title this year, still I tried everything

Although failing to prolong the MotoGP title fight until this weekend’s second Portuguese Grand Prix of 2021, Francesco Bagnaia is more disappointed by losing out on a second Misano win last time out. 

The Italian was in complete control before crashing out of the lead with 5 laps to go, a mistake that handed Fabio Quartararo the title no matter where the French rider finished.

Ahead of this weekend’s penultimate round of the season, Bagnaia alluded to thinking more about the race win than a lost championship in the aftermath of that race.

"I’m thinking about it more as I lost a race than a championship because Fabio [Quartararo] deserved more this championship," said Bagnaia in today’s pre-event press conference. 

"I was with a lot of points behind and also I was winning the race in Misano. If I won it would be something like 36 points - with 36 points we still have a lot of possibilities to win a title. 

"But in any case, I tried everything. It was not our objective to win the championship this year because I was arriving from two very difficult seasons in MotoGP. 

"I struggled a lot. This year I learned a lot and grew with the team."

Although Bagnaia will have to wait until next year to potentially win a first world title since 2018 - won the Moto2 crown, the Italian rider’s season has been so prolific that he tied Casey Stoner’s Ducati record of four consecutive poles last time out. 

With the Australian inside the paddock this weekend, Bagnaia is looking forward to meeting the former two-time world champion, which will also be the first time he’s done so.

When asked about speaking with Stoner, Bagnaia added: "I haven’t had the opportunity to meet Casey [Stoner], but I know that he’s in the garage and I think I will meet him after the press conference. 

"I will ask him many things; it’s the first time that I will meet him, and when I was young I was watching him and Vale [Rossi] fighting, so I would like to know what he thinks about Vale."