I’ll admit that in the days after I watched the race about ten times — I didn’t remember much of it because of the adrenaline, so I had to go back and watch everything from the start. Nice to do, but then you close the chapter and move on.

Balaton is the exact opposite of Mugello. Stop and go, slow, technical — Mugello feels like a motorway by comparison. A track I like, it’s unique, but it requires a completely different approach from the very first practice session.

Friday the goal was to get through to Q2 and we did it. Sixth. Pedro made a pretty significant difference — he was on another planet. Turn 1 had been resurfaced, the bumps were gone, but the grip was actually worse than before. We were struggling on the soft, especially at the front, there was still work to do on the setup.

Saturday in the Sprint I started sixth and in the early laps it felt like I was riding on ice. I couldn’t find the right line, nothing was flowing. Mid-race I had contact with Aldeguer at Turn 11 — it damaged the rear of the bike, braking felt strange. But with a bit of patience and a few calculated risks I managed to bring it home. Third place. Marquez was untouchable, Acosta second. Important points for the championship.

Sunday didn’t go our way. Despite a good start I got caught up in a pile-up at Turn 1.

Fortunately nobody was seriously hurt, just a few bruises.

We’ll make up for it at Brno.