Francesco Bagnaia explains celebratory gesture after Indonesian Grand Prix - 'For people who speak too much'

Francesco Bagnaia has taken aim at “people that are always speaking too much” after he retook the MotoGP championship lead with victory in Indonesia.

Bagnaia came from 13th on the grid to win and reclaim the title lead from Jorge Martin, who crashed out of the race.

It was Bagnaia’s first race win since August after his lead had been whittled down by Martin, who had won two of the last three races before the Indonesian Grand Prix.

Bagnaia celebrated victory by cupping his hand to his ear during the cool-down lap, and then repeated the gesture on the podium.

“For me, it’s because sometimes people speak too much, it is better to wait a bit and then speak after everything,” he said about the gesture as quoted by Bikesport News.

Asked to clarify who it was aimed at, he added: “Was not to someone, was to people that are always speaking too much before.

“It's better to wait, until we finish the season, before starting to speak. It's for those people."

Bagnaia won the Indonesian Grand Prix ahead of Maverick Vinales and Fabio Quartararo.

“I put this win, maybe more, to a similar level of Malaysia last year,” added Bagnaia.

“I gave everything, to fight back from what happened on Saturday [qualifying in 13th place], we did an incredible job.

“In the race I just tried to do the maximum possible in the overtakes at the start, so when I saw I was third, I just wanted to catch Maverick as soon as possible so I could fight with Jorge, but I saw he was pushing a lot and the pace was really on the limit.

“On Saturday, the last thing I did when I turned off my phone was think it was important to do my maximum on Sunday. We needed it, we deserved it, so it’s a really great push for the rest of the races.”

Bagnaia leads Martin by 18 points with five races of the season remaining. Marco Bezzecchi is 63 back in third, but it looks like Bagnaia and Martin will battle for the title.

Martin, who crashed when three seconds in front in Indonesia, said he remains confident in his speed.

“I did an amazing race until the crash. I am the fastest at the moment, so I have to be calm... still a long way to go.

“Today, I made a mistake. But having speed on every track, having completed many races without errors, statistically, a mistake was bound to happen sooner or later.

“I’m frustrated it happened today, especially on a track where I’m fast. However, I believe I can dominate in many other races and reclaim the lead.

“I'm the guy chasing again, so now I hope he’s a bit scared again!”

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