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Marc Marquez stated that at Silverstone he would need to play in defense, and that's what he did today. He only took risks when necessary and secured a useful 6th place for direct entry into Q2. However, he realized that the Aprilias are distant and that it will be difficult to compete on equal terms with them this weekend. Have you activated survival mode? “As I said yesterday, it was apparent that it would be a weekend where the Aprilias would be strong, and today's events confirmed it. It feels like it was in Holland, where they were a step ahead of everyone. We'll see if we can continue working to get the maximum, at the moment we are between 5th and 7th place, far from the podium”. Did you try to avoid taking too many risks? “I tried to manage the day in the best possible way without taking too many risks, but I did take them in the time attack and gave it my all because I wasn't sure about Q2 at a circuit like this”. What do you think about Bezzecchi's time? “He was very fast. Once again, Marco is the fastest rider and the one making the difference. We'll see tomorrow and the day after where we can be”. Is the team pushing or following your lead? “When you arrive at a circuit where you struggle, you usually ask the team to stay calm because I know they have the best intentions; they give me ideas, but it's not a matter of the bike. It's you who are not giving 100% or your riding style that doesn't fit; I've always struggled on flowing tracks. I try to give my best without searching for that last tenth, but rather consistency”. What is your physical condition? “I'm happy because I was able to be a bit more aggressive, and this helps me. I see that I have the same weak point I had before, but it seems that in certain parts of the circuit, I can be more aggressive and with more control than before. It doesn't mean I can be faster, but I can have more security. As I said yesterday, it's like this, I have an arm that functions differently”. You made a save similar to those of the past... “Today I felt I could be more aggressive, but normally the bike doesn't move on fast tracks, whereas today it did. I need to find a way to be aggressive while maintaining corner speed”. Do you need to improve more on the race pace or the time attack? “Both. In terms of pace, I'm 6th or 7th and in the time attack today 6th. I have a slightly better potential than at Assen, but the position is similar. However, I feel more optimistic”. Why does Aprilia make the difference here? “Our bike has weak and strong points. On tracks with fast corners, Aprilia is better than us, while on Stop&Go tracks, we are better. That said, given my riding style, since the first year in MotoGP, I've struggled on certain circuits and been strong on others”. What did you see following your brother? “I realized that in certain corners he is extremely fast, and when I tried to copy him and follow, it got even worse. I was overdoing it and was slower. I'm 33 years old, I can only adapt my riding style a bit. Last year I could recover in direction changes, but this year I can't, I'm slower and have the same limits in fast corners. I need to manage the weekend and have fun. Alex and Diggia are fast, but the Aprilias are faster, they are more consistent”. Bagnaia says that Alex is the best interpreter of the GP26. “It depends on the track and riding style, but Alex has been riding very well since last year and showed it in the first part of the season; unfortunately, he got injured. If we talk about riding, he's the best Ducati rider. Diggia is also very fast, but Alex does fantastic things in some corners”. Why weren't you in London yesterday for the event organized by MotoGP? “I realized that a 6-hour event on Thursday is not ideal for achieving good performance and for a rider's physical condition”. Photo @ Pierluca Brunetti