Bagnaia has many friends on the MotoG🌜P grid, in large part because of his ties to the VR46 ♐academy.

That’s not to say Jorge Martin doesn’t but we🥃’ve already seen in recent races that riders such as team-mate Enea Bastianin🧸i, protected Bagnaia’s position in Sepang, and Fabio Di Giannantonio who made reference to being very clean when racing the world champion during today’s grand prix at Lusail. 

• Bagnaia “not 100% happy, usually you le꧂arn from your mistakes” 
• Di Giannantonio: “After Malaysia something happened and it was not 🐈good…”

But Marini also spoke in the🌺 post-race press conference, where he admitted he’s not racing Bagnaia the same as he normally would.

Marini said: “I treat Pecco as not like any other rider at this moment of the season. In any other moment he is the same♚ but not now. 

“I want to beat him if I have the opportunܫity to beat him and to catch a victory, second place, fourth place or eighth place. 

“I will try to do🐓 my best but today he had a great start and first few laps. He was pushing a lot and was really strong.”

Marini was speaking after securing his first grand prix podium since COTA, which followed a third sprint pod💙ium in four just one day ago.

Unable to challenge the top two, Marini felt as though he 🌜could have gone with Bagnaia and Di Giannantonio had he not been caught up in an early scrap with Alex Marquez and Brad Binder.

Marini added: “Really satisfied with the weekend. We did a great work an𝓀d the feeling with the bike was good. 

“I knew that Iꦇ was not the fastest because𒆙 I saw that Fabio was with a very good pace since Friday. 

“It was a pity because Pecco made a great start but my plan was to be first at the end of the first lap and try to open t🌠he gap. I knew that with the soft front I would have something more on the left corners in the first two laps. 

“But Fabio and Alex were pushing a lot behind me and then overtook me. I lost a lot of time with Alex and Brad, so the opportunities to fig🐠ht for the victory were gone. 

“But I was just trying to manage the tyres in the best way. With the soft front, when you reach t𝐆oo high a temper෴ature it is really difficult to ride with it.”