Frances🌟co Bagnaia stormed to victory in the Austrian MotoGP, securing his third Sprint-Grand Prix double of the season.

A member of the VR46 Rider Academy almost since its inception, Bagnaia has grown as a rider under the tutelage of nine-times World Champion Valentino Rossi. Before the start in Austria, h🥂e receivꦓed some straightforward advice from his mentor.

“Before the race, he [Rossi] just sa𝓰id to me that what I did yesterday [in the Sprint] was already good, so just try to repeat it,” Bagnaia told the post-race press conference.

𒅌Bagna🌃ia continued, and expanded on the kind of fraternity that exists between the various VR46 Academy members.

“After the race, he was just very happy, also because Celestino [Vietti] just won his first race of the year, he wasn’t in a good situation,༺ so we are very happy for him; I think Bezzecchi did a good race also; Franky wasn’t the best race but he managed to come back a lot; so I ✤think it’s a very good weekend for the Academy.”

Understandably, the opinion of Rossi is one that Bagnaia values, and actively seeks out 💫on race weekends, even when Rossi isn’t present at the track.

“It’s always important to have Vale with us, but I speak a lot with him also when he’s not here,” he said. “We text a lot, and I think he’s super useful because I need his point of view. So, when he’s here it’s true that he has to focus more on his team, but in the evening we spoke yesterday and on Friday. I need his poi🧸nt of view.”

Speaking more broadly about his race in Austri❀a, Bagnaia spoke of his satisfaction at his own pace, and how he managed the race.

“Yesterda𒉰y was a very great ♓race, with a bit of luck with Jorge’s penalty,” he said. “But then today I think we did a very fantastic pace. It was incredible, the speed we had.

“I♎ was just trying to be a bit faster every lap compared to Jorge just to have this kind of gap in the last part of the race, and again control a bit with the rear. I w🙈as having a lot of ‘waving’ [weaving] in the straight with the rear tyre, and it was important to have this kind of gap just to manage it.”