Friday I was twentieth.

When I think about it now, it feels pretty strange. Twentieth. In the rain, no feeling, a bike I couldn’t figure out and a track I’d never seen before.

It’s not easy to handle moments like that — the only thing we know how to do is work.

Me and the team stayed up late into the night going through the data, trying to find the right setup.

And already in Saturday’s FP2 something changed. You could see the work paying off, and on my side too I got a better feel for how to read the track.

We got through Q1, found our rhythm, and ended up on the front row. Second on the grid. From twentieth to second. In one day.

The Sprint was so-so — Jorge got past me mid-race and I couldn’t answer back. Fourth. Fair enough, and I knew it. Race pace-wise there was still something missing, but I could feel we were heading in the right direction.

Sunday morning I woke up with a different feeling. The warm-up gave me good sensations and Vale’s message gave me an extra boost. I knew I could really go for it.

Eight fewer laps — I don’t know if that’s better or worse, but the strategy definitely changed. Push hard from the start.

Good start, first corner in the lead, I had to break away. Every lap I felt it. I pushed when I had to push, I managed when I had to manage.

When I saw the chequered flag I thought about a lot of things. About my team, who turned a Friday to forget into a victory. About this strange and wonderful circuit, about the Brazilian crowd — something truly unique. About Jorge, who finished second: an Aprilia one-two, the first in the manufacturer’s MotoGP history. That’s something big.

And I thought about Roberto Lunadei. Roberto was one of those people you find alongside you in paddock life and never think could be gone. Last week he left us. This victory is his and his family’s. He was there with me today, I’m sure of it.

Next week, Austin. Another track, another story.

Can’t wait.