I try to keep things a bit more reserved in changes of direction but in the end this is my style. When it comes to picking up the bike out of the turns I’m one of the best among all the Ducati riders. I feel strong, so I’ll keep doing the same.
You are strong in pick-up and also with throttle control, how come?
I am a really sensitive rider, so I understand whether the rear tyre is pushing or if it’s sliding, then I compensate with the throttle, which is why even though I don’t use much traction control I can be faster out of the corners. From this point it’s not so much my position on the bike, it’s more about my sensitivity with the throttle.
Do you use traction control from the very edge of the tyres?
The traction control starts at the moment we start opening the throttle, so in the end it doesn’t change a lot. I don’t need more TC than Jack [Miller], for example, because even if I lean a long way out of the bike he leans his bike more, which makes sense, because the more you lean off the bike the less the bike needs to lean. So maybe that’s why I’m fast at the exit of the corners.
Can you run us through the process from full lean to accelerating out of the corner…
When I’m at full lean angle I then try to pull up the bike as fast as I can, using my arms also, even though sometimes my left hand isn’t even touching the handlebar, maybe with just one finger, because I am leaning off the bike to the maximum. From that point I just try to pick up the bike and put the power to the ground, managing the throttle to keep the grip.
If you’ve only got one finger holding the handlebar you’re going to be in trouble if something goes wrong, like a slide?
Well, I’m quite safe with the MotoGP controls. For sure it would be a different story if the bike was a 250cc two-stroke! But I can do it and that’s why I do it.
Looking at riders now, your upper body, shoulders, arms and hands are in such contorted positions that you must need to do some special gym exercises?
I used to train a lot in my Moto3 years to work out for these styles, so that I could try to turn the bike faster. I stopped for a while but I think it’s interesting to go back to work on those aspects, on the technical parts, to improve my skills. And of course we also train with bikes to try and work on different riding styles.
Getting the bike turned seems to be the biggest thing riders and engineers are chasing now, so that you can point the bike out of the corner and open the throttle sooner. Do you also use the rear brake to turn, like some guys do?
No, I only use the rear brake to stop the bike. Sometimes you get a bit of help from the rear when you’re turning, but it’s not easy for me to do this, so in my case it’s more about physically forcing the bike to turn than using the rear tyre.
It’s difficult, because you cannot open the throttle when you’re using the rear brake because the rear shock is compressed, so the rear tyre will just slide. For sure I’d like to turn better and try to learn how, but there’s a lot to understand.
“Sometimes Zarco’s laps that are so amazing that it’s difficult to believe they are real!”
The Ducati is the most extreme bike in MotoGP, with more horsepower than all the others and more downforce aero, so is it complicated to ride?
I think the Ducati is now a really complete bike, which you can ride with different styles. Because, for example, Pecco [Bagnaia] and me have really different riding styles. In some corners we are quite similar, but in others we are completely the opposite.
I make really good corner speed — with my style I can be super-fast into the corner and in the middle of the corner. Pecco brakes super-late, but even though he does that he can also accelerate well. It’s two different styles but in the end in terms of one lap the speed is really similar and at some races we are really similar in terms of pace. The good thing is that you can ride the Ducati in different ways.
Do you try to copy anything Bagnaia does?
Not in terms of style, but for sure if I see on the data that he’s faster in a certain corner I try to be faster in that area.
Who’s the best Ducati rider? Obviously Bagnaia has won the most races…
Well, I’d say Pecco is the best because he’s the most complete and he’s the Ducati guy we look to as the reference at almost every track. I also think [Johann] Zarco is an amazing rider and some days he is unbelievably fast. Sometimes when he is really inspired he makes these laps that are so amazing that it’s difficult to believe they are real!
Zarco uses Ducati’s front ride-height device, but you don’t. Why?
I tried the device but I didn’t have the confidence to go into the corners. I didn’t feel so confident in braking, so I removed it.