Eighth, Bagnaia wants to resolve his Sprint problems

It was the weekend where, for the first time this year, he was able to arrive with an advantage over Marc Márquez. Usually at ease on tracks like Qatar, with long corners and a sustained pace, Pecco Bagnaia gave his garage neighbor a run for his money on Friday in practice. In qualifying, everything went to hell for the Italian driver. A crash on his second attempt left him in eleventh position on the grid.

Bagnaia frank about his fall

On the official MotoGP website, the double world champion (2022, 2023) did not make any excuses: “On Friday, just like Saturday morning, I felt extremely comfortable on the bike. In qualifying, on the first attempt, something didn't work as planned. On the second, everything was going well, but I crashed at Turn 4. I came in a little too hard and lost the front. It's my fault, because when the first attempt doesn't work, you have to stay a little more calm; you need that lap. On the one hand, if I wasn't going for it at that moment, I would never have done it. I was fighting for pole position, and I pushed a little too hard.”

Recurring problems in Sprint

While Bagnaia is used to electrifying first laps when he starts a little further back, that was not the case on Saturday. Worse, the official Ducati rider slipped back in the rankings, until he was overtaken by his rival of recent years, Jorge Martín. Now with Aprilia, the Spaniard was making his comeback in Qatar, and seeing him in front must have been an electric shock for Bagnaia, who came back at the end of the race. Taking advantage of the significant deterioration of the soft rear tires for his rivals, he regained eighth place as the checkered flag flew.

A result that may seem disappointing, but which the protégé of Valentino Rossi. While he always comes back on Sundays, the Saturday Sprints give him more trouble. It is mainly because of his results in these short races that he lost the 2024 title, despite eleven Grand Prix victories on Sundays. Bagnaia and his team do not yet have an answer for this drop in pace during a race that started with half a tank.

“Starting eleventh, I expected to have difficulties in the Sprint. For three seasons now, when I have to start further back, I have had difficulty overtaking riders on Saturday. We need to understand why, but it's the same situation every time and I have the same feelings every time. The only difference with Sunday is the fuel load, otherwise it's the same. I need to improve. I'm more confident for the Grand Prix, because my pace could be much better.”

Every point counts

"At least we took two points, instead of zero. Every point counts, so we have to keep going like this. For the future, we have to improve on that, because it's not possible to finish eighth when you're fighting against a rider like Marc Márquez. Sunday will be very important to lose as few points as possible, or maybe even gain some."

It's probably the balance of the bike that's changing because I can't be aggressive on the brakes. On Sunday, it's totally different and I can overtake six or seven riders per lap. That's what really makes me angry, because if I can do it on Sunday, I should be able to do it on Saturday."

Francesco Bagnaia ended with a touch of humor, but which could also serve as a warning to his rivals: "On Sunday, I'm going to overtake ten riders in one lap, that will be a new record!"

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