MotoGP: Valentino Rossi Makes Bold Pecco Bagnaia And Max Verstappen Comparison

Saajan Jogia | Aug 19, 2024

August 26, 2012; Brno, CZECH REPUBLIC; MotoGP rider Valentino Rossi (ITA) looks on prior to the Czech Republic Grand Prix at Automotodrom Brno. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports / Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

MotoGP legend and VR46 Racing Team owner Valentino Rossi praised Francesco Bagnaia's (Pecco) "incredible" performance at the Austrian GP, where Bagnaia dominated the race from start to finish, securing a commanding victory.

The Ducati rider, who is also a VR46 Academy graduate, stole the spotlight at the Red Bull Ring by winning both Saturday's sprint race and Sunday's Grand Prix. This impressive double victory propels him to the top of the Championship Standings, ahead of Prima Pramac's Jorge Martin, who finished in second place.

Offering his say about Pecco's flawless performance, comparing it to F1 championship leader Max Verstappen's strategy of leading the race from the start, Rossi told Sky Italia after the Sprint race:

“He comes from an incredible moment, this weekend he immediately started strong, he went well from the first practice.

“Martin is there, but these weekends [Bagnaia] manages to have something more.

“He's very quiet, drives well and is incredibly fast. He has improved a lot on all points and at the moment he doesn't have a weak point.

“He does the lap, he always starts well at the start and this is a very important thing, something that champions like Verstappen for example do.

“It's not easy to always start well, every now and then someone gets it wrong and instead he's always there. And he’s incredibly fast."

Similar to the last season, Rossi suggests that the fight for the championship between Pecco and Martin will reach the last race of the season. He added:

"There is a lot of possibility that they will reach the end.

“It depends on the dynamics. Now we are in the Bagnaia dynamic which has recovered a lot of points from them in the last races, because let's not forget that he had maybe 40, but he was in the lead and now he's there.

“Now we have to see every weekend, because Martin is a very fast rider, he doesn't make many mistakes, he has the fastest lap too. He starts well, these are the important things in MotoGP now and it will be a good fight until the end."

When asked if it was better to be chased or to chase in the championship fight, the seven-time MotoGP rider said:

"In my opinion, Pecco was in a good condition before the break because he had passed him.

“But Martin, even though he won't be in Ducati next year, will have to change teams and was disappointed because he wanted the red one.

“When he returned from holidays he was there straight away and managed to recover points from him.

“Now I see it as equal. Even from the outside, the two of them are the ones who are going a little better now, you can see it by eye."

Lastly, Rossi highlighted a key strong point in Pecco that makes him different from the rest of the riders. He said:

"Yes, lately under pressure he's giving his all, he manages to bring out that extra bit.

“In my opinion, Bagnaia's strength is this: he's aggressive but he's not dirty, he's clean but he's not sweet.

“He's the right mix of wickedness, the aggressiveness, riding the Ducati in oversteer when braking but also the mileage, he don't make mistakes. Now he’s hard to beat.”