Yesterday he predicted that the Aprilias would be the favorites in Barcelona and Pecco Bagnaia doesn’t seem to have made a mistake in his prediction, because at the end of the first day of testing for the Catalan Grand Prix, Aleix Espargaro’s RS-GP was hoisted up ahead of everyone, who last year scored a sensational double at the gates of his Granollers.
Once again the Catalan circuit confirmed that it is among those that offer less grip and Ducati usually tends to suffer from this situation. It is no coincidence that even though the reigning world champion’s performance was the best of the Desmosedici GPs, the Piedmontese had to settle for fourth place, also behind the two KTMs of Brad Binder and Pedro Acosta.
However, Pecco seems quite satisfied with the work done today, also because he is convinced that he has already understood the countermoves to be made tomorrow to improve. However, regarding the track conditions he was very clear and direct.
“This track wins the award for the least grip of the entire calendar, but by a lot of margin. At least four races to go (laughs). Usually, in these conditions, Aprilia and KTM always seem to have a slight advantage on the first day, but it’s something that we usually manage to fill. We’ve already taken a step today and I think we’ll take another step tomorrow”, said Bagnaia at the end of the day, who with his performance today confirmed that the bad accident last year is now a distant memory.
“I wasn’t able to do a super lap with the time attack, but it came out quite well and we’re already at a really high level. The GP24 helps us a little compared to the GP23 in braking, because you can stop hard and turn in well Then we have a little less grip, but nothing that we won’t be able to balance tomorrow,” he added.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
Among other things, this little grip also creates a hint of apprehension linked to the management of the medium tyre, which is the one that will most likely have to be used in the long race on Sunday, because it takes a really long time to be put in the right window.
“It was 35-40 degrees on the asphalt, so the track was quite hot, the problem is that the asphalt is a disaster: the grip isn’t there and you can’t push. To get the medium tire up to temperature, we needed to they want at least six laps. The soft is ready immediately, but it probably won’t finish the race, so it’s very difficult to find the right compromise. But the situation is the same for everyone and we know where to go to work.”
When he was asked what are the most complicated aspects to manage in these conditions, he then added: “Already at the entrance it starts behind you, same thing as soon as you touch the gas. You have to control the balance of the bike with the weight a lot. It’s really all round the lack of grip. At turn 3 and turn 4 it feels like being at the Ranch, on dirt, because as soon as you touch the gas it starts and then you have to manage it.”
Finally, he closed with a comparison with the Aprilias, suggesting that in his opinion they are strong, but not unbeatable: “Last year we were stronger than them in certain points and this year in others, because the GP24 has less grip They managed to have more traction, but not a lot, but then they made the difference in the last laps. In my opinion, we made a step forward in braking and turning in, but we need to improve on the consistency of the tyre, because to go fast we need to exploit it a little. ‘ moreover”.
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