It is not the first time that Pecco Bagnaia has found himself having to face a difficult moment since he became one of the top riders in MotoGP, but there is no big doubt about one thing: the world champion has always found the strength to get out of trouble . And proof of this is the comeback that last year led him to ascend the world championship throne after also reaching -91 in the standings compared to Fabio Quartararo.
Now the situation is not so dramatic, because in any case he is still in charge of the World Championship, even if with today’s crash at the Buddh International Circuit his margin over Jorge Martin was reduced to just 13 points. Very few if you consider that after the Barcelona Sprint he reached 66 points.
If there was no story for the victory, with Marco Bezzecchi rampant, second place however seemed definitely within the reach of the Ducati rider, who after overtaking Martin was starting to pull away from the Madrilenian. Eight laps from the end, however, there was a cataclysm: at turn 5 he lost the front of his Desmosedici GP, ending his race prematurely.
A mistake probably due to the choice of the hard tire for the front, which only he and Franco Morbidelli made on the entire grid, even if Pecco explained that it was the only option he had if he wanted to try to compete with his rivals, given the major braking difficulties he experienced throughout the weekend.
“It’s difficult to say. I was pushing, but we had accepted the risk of racing with the hard tire. I don’t know why, but the other Ducatis made good use of the medium front, while I had difficulties with that tire, because I had too much locking and the related problems when braking. For this reason we accepted the risk of racing on the hard tire and up until the moment of the crash it had performed well. I felt better than with the medium, but I was at the limit. And when you are at the limit anything can happen “, Bagnaia said when he met journalists.
“But for us it was the only chance to fight with the others: Bezzecchi was unbeatable today, but I was with Martin and I hadn’t increased the pace after I overtook him, but when the rear came back after the skid, he let me pushed on the front and I lost it. These things can happen, but I’m not happy, because they shouldn’t happen to me, who’s fighting for the World Championship.”
“But I also think that we shouldn’t find ourselves in the conditions we were in here and at Misano: braking has always been our strong point and now it’s our weak point, because I can’t stop the bike and my rear moves a lot, but we still haven’t understood why. Yesterday we had a meeting, but obviously it wasn’t possible to solve the problem for today. I’m sure that in Japan we will understand it better though”, he added.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Srinivasa Krishnan
Apparently, these braking difficulties began during the Misano weekend, but on that occasion he was too focused on the leg injured in Barcelona to fully realize it. A situation that paid dearly in India, even though the world champion took responsibility for his mistake with great honesty.
“In Misano I was conservative with my leg both on Friday and Saturday, but on Sunday I was ready to fight even if I wasn’t at 100%. The problem was braking, because I had a lot of locking and the rear was moving a lot. That should have been a bit of an alarm and letting us know that something was wrong, but I was too focused on the leg to understand it.”
“Here the leg was no longer a problem, but we started the weekend with a lot of locking, more than the other Ducatis, and also with a lot of chatter at the rear. We looked for a better solution, which today was allowing me to battle with Jorge, but the feeling wasn’t great.”
“And, as I said, when you are too hard at the limit, it is possible that an accident like this happens to you. However, it was completely my mistake and I have already apologized to the team: today it would have been better to understand the situation and finish third. Between the other, with what happened afterwards, maybe I would have finished second. But at the moment I’m not happy with my feeling on the bike.”
Now the battle with Martin becomes very complicated, also because the Prima Pramac Racing standard bearer is coming off three victories and a second place in the last two weekends. Furthermore, the next appointment is in Japan, in Motegi, on another track where braking reigns supreme. However, Pecco has great faith in the fact that his team will once again be able to turn the situation around.
“I’m not worried, because I’m convinced that my team will find the solution and that our strong point will once again be braking. It won’t be easy, because Jorge is in a great moment of form, but today he finished 8″ behind Bezzecchi, who was too strong for everyone. I want to go back to our position: in Austria we led in an incredible manner, while in Barcelona we were competing with the Aprilias and the second Ducati was much further behind. Something happened from Misano, because I didn’t feel like I always did on my home track. But I have 100% confidence in my team, because we will not give up in the face of these difficulties and we will resolve this,” he concluded.
![Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team](https://cdn-6.motorsport.com/images/mgl/2jXayMb6/s1000/francesco-bagnaia-ducati-team-1.jpg)
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
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