Francesco Bagnaia is currently unable to be as fast as the leading Ducati trio, and expects the same situation tomorrow.
Francis Bagnaia He's had a mixed start to the German Grand Prix. Having failed to qualify for Q2 yesterday, he managed to get through Q1 this morning, but could only manage 11th in qualifying. Heavily outpaced by the Márquez brothers and Fabio Di Giannantonio, all riding the same GP26, he hasn't yet found a solution.
After a very good start, he climbed to seventh place on the first lap and held it until the finish. While he briefly hoped to overtake Jorge Martín ahead of him, he ultimately decided against it to avoid making a mistake. The Italian rider doesn't expect any major changes for tomorrow's main race, unless he manages to adapt his data to Álex Márquez, whom he considers the benchmark.
“I’m having a lot of trouble with the grip, and it’s on the time attack that I’m having the most difficulty. I managed to qualify for Q2, and then 11th place was the best I could do.”, he explained. “I got a good start and tried to keep up with the riders in front of me, but as soon as the rear tire started to degrade, I pushed hard on the front because I can’t slide the rear under acceleration like the other Ducati riders do.”
“I have to keep both wheels aligned at all times, which causes a lot of understeer. Both my tires were worn down to the cords, and the last five laps were very difficult. I tried to close the gap to Martín, but I was taking too many risks and had to settle for less. The best possible result for me today would probably have been sixth place, but seventh is a good compromise considering my struggles.”
"The GP26, like last year's model, is closer to the 2023 version than other bikes I preferred."he said. “They have more weight on the rear, and that kind of balance has always bothered me a bit because I prioritize braking and corner entry. If I don't have weight on the front, I struggle more. I'm closer to Álex, and we complain about the same things. If we can figure out what he's doing, I can be competitive. I've already seen his data, as well as Marc's and Diggia's. I don't have the potential to stay ahead. Álex is the fastest. If he manages to overtake Marc tomorrow, he might have more in reserve.”
Results of the sprint race of the German Grand Prix :
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
