by VALERIO BARRETTA
Bagnaia, an anonymous 5th place in Austin
After eighth place in the Sprint, Francesco Bagnaia wanted redemption in Austin. This redemption didn't happen, and indeed the Texas race gave us a “Pecco” who was always out of the fight that mattered, prey to the race and incapable of attacking it.
The three-time MotoGP champion himself defined his performance as “defensive” due to the numerous vibrations on his GP24, something that Jorge Martin had also complained about a lot in Qatar.
Bagnaia's words
“Until lap 6 I felt very good and ready to win, but from then on we had to start driving on defense. I was strong under braking, but otherwise I was in difficulty. There were a lot of vibrations, the front closed a lot. Now we work, now we try to finish the matches like we did today, even if on defense, to do our best. Qwhen the time comes to attack and stay in front we will do so“, this is his comment to Sky Sports MotoGP.
“This morning we wanted to use the Sprint tire because it was the only time we could put some more laps on the soft. It wasn't too bad even though it was already vibrating. I tried the medium on Friday and it wasn't bad, but on the left it had a clear disadvantage as far as I'm concerned. It could have been better, but I don't know“, he continued. “The 2023 was an easier bike on this track, I was flying and going faster. I had a weekend similar to that of Maverick despite the crash on Sunday. I felt very comfortable and had done half the effort, while this year the bike was more physical. In the final laps the front started to tear, which has never happened here. Every time something happens that's not under our control, so we're still figuring it all out“.
“If you look at this weekend it was special because Martin was very strong, while I was strong on Friday. Enea was in more difficulty before, today he was faster, and Martin was in difficulty today. We need to understand a few things, it's a similar start to the season to 2022 when I struggled a bit at the start and tried to bring home the points. By working we will get back to where we need to be, our place is certainly not in fifth position, but among the top two. We will get our results, today we were more in the game than yesterday. I've seen a much more aggressive approach from some drivers, and the situation today was more to be managed calmly“.
#Austin #Bagnaia #Played #defense #aggressive
