‘Sometimes my left hand isn’t even touching the handlebar, maybe with just one finger!’

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.

What was the change in braking?

The braking point is the same, so just the feeling changed. I felt a bit of a misunderstanding with the front in the last part of braking. And, anyway, you spend time to understand the system and then they take it away, so it made no sense to keep working with it. [MotoGP has banned front shapeshifters/ride-height devices from the end of this season.]

What about the differences in the way that you and Enea [Bastianini] ride?

The first point is aero – his bike is always faster on top speed than mine! We don’t understand why but I suppose he’s just better in this aspect. Also, he can brake really late and go super-fast into corners but I can use more corner speed and exit the corners better. These are the differences but in the end we are quite similar because maybe the difference in corner speed is only 1km/h [0.6mph].

This is one of the great things about motorcycle racing – that everyone rides a bit differently but in the end you all do similar lap times

Exactly.

You will stay at Pramac next year, so apart from the financial difference in not having a factory deal, will this make any difference? For example we saw both Danilo Petrucci and Jack Miller at Pramac, where they didn’t win races, then moving to the factory and winning races. When Petrucci first joined the factory team he said the biggest difference was the number of electronics guys he had working for him.

In terms of [financial] contract, it’s the same for me whether I’m here or in the factory team, so I’m quite happy with that. Also in terms of electronics guys we have the same number of people. Behind the box [garage] I have maybe three electronics guys and the data is compared with all the guys in the other Ducati boxes. And in terms of electronics, if I have the best acceleration [of all the Ducatis], then we are OK!

So in the end it’s just different colours. But maybe the main difference is that if you are a factory rider you can decide a bit more what goes into the project – when new parts arrive you can decide which way to go – but in the end we all have the same material, so I am quite relaxed.

We see riders’ results changing a lot from race to race due to tyre choice and maybe missing the window to get their tyres performing in the right way, so how do you see that?

Yes, your results depend on the bike and also upon the tyres. I think this year it’s been really complicated for everybody to choose their race rear tyre. I don’t know why, because last year it was easier and quite clear which tyre to choose. This year all the different tyre options are working, so sometimes you can even use the soft for the race.

When people use different tyres in races they have different tools to fight for victory, so it’s not easy.

Next year you will have only two rear tyre options, instead of the three options MotoGP has had since Michelin arrived in 2016. How will that change things?

I think it will be easier for everybody, because one tyre will work better than the other. Now, with three options, normally two are working well enough to be your race tyre, so you have to make your choice between those two tyres, not one.

Do you think that will make the racing better or worse?

I don’t know, it’s difficult to say. I think riders will make more similar tyre choices, whereas now maybe one rider makes a good choice and wins the race, while another rider takes the other tyre and doesn’t win the race. I think it will change things a lot and it will be easier for teams to work, because now it’s quite a mess.

Finally, sprint races… In theory, no issues with tyre life and fewer problems with physical endurance, so will they be different from the Sunday races, or will we see the same people winning on Saturday and Sunday?

I think it will be different. Maybe we will see the same people winning but there will be more battling and much more exciting races. It will be interesting and I’m really excited to have these races because I’m a really explosive guy. Normally I win two or three positions on the first lap of a race, so I think it will be good for me to get more points. Also, if you are injured and miss a race weekend you will lose even more points…

I guess you’ll also have to think about not having a bad crash fighting for nine points on Saturday when there are 25 points available on Sunday?

In the sprint races the wins won’t be wins like Sunday wins and at the same time the crashes won’t be like Sunday crashes, because you have another go the next day.

But if you get hurt in the sprint race…

Exactly. But I think the percentage is the same, because if you make points you make them in both or you lose them in both. I think for me it will be a bit better, but it will be very demanding and so many races will be difficult.

But basically it’s all the same when the lights go out…

Yes, you just push and don’t think about it!