Falling 48 points behind Fabio Quartararo before the Grand Prix of the Americas in Austin, Francesco Bagnaia is truly doing everything he can to keep the MotoGP championship open, and this has been perfection since Aragón: Three consecutive pole positions and two victories at the key, while waiting for the race in Texas.
Francis Bagnaia thus becomes the first Italian driver to win three pole positions in a row since Valentino Rossi in 2009 and brings Borgo Panigale its third MotoGP pole position on American soil after the two Casey Stoner at Laguna Seca in 2007 and 2008.
But the statistics are certainly not what interests the Turinese at the moment who will try this evening to continue to reduce the gap on the championship leader, even if his start to the weekend in Texas was more difficult than expected.
Sixth in FP1 and FP2 on the first day, the Ducati rider finished 9th in FP3 and 3rd in FP4 following his teammate, before making the qualification that we know.
However, and even if the 24-year-old young man still appears calm and composed, nothing is assured in this race which promises to be delicate, especially in the face of Fabio Quartararo, Marc Marquez and other Jorge Martín with very long teeth that rub shoulders with him on the grid…
Francis Bagnaia : “I got three poles in a row. I'm happy, but we're just here to try to keep the world championship open. The best starting position is pole position, and we succeeded once again, but I don't think it will change much because I took a bit of a risk in the timed lap.
I had even more difficulty in the morning, but then we decided to stop trying to adjust the bike for the bumps. We went back to the Misano setup and everything worked better. In FP4 I tried to follow Jack, who turns out to be very fast here in Austin, and that helped me a lot, so I thank him! From FP4 I had better sensations and in Q2 I had the same sensations again: it was possible and it was easier for me to attack more. When I saw that I had a two-tenths lead after the first sector, I tried to push harder. I'm very happy because we struggled a bit at the start of the weekend, but now we're back on top. »
Faced with the problems posed by his opponents and the bosses, Pecco seems clear: “It will be more difficult this time to stay ahead. I saw the rhythms of Marc, Fabio and Jack, which are better than mine at the moment. But it's also true that I found a good feeling again in Q2. I am convinced that Marc will try to attack from the start and take the advantage. The key on this route will be to be as regular as possible. It is very difficult not to make a mistake with these bumps. I'm pretty sure we'll be able to fight for the top, but we'll see. The pace in the race is generally slower than in qualifying, because in qualifying we took a lot of risks with these bumps. The problem is that the bike does something different each time with these undulations. It is very difficult to be regular. But it is what it is and we will have to race. I think it's almost impossible to overtake with the bumps. You will have to drive cleanly and be intelligent. »
Results of Qualifying 2 of the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas:
Results of Qualifying 1 of the MotoGP Grand Prix of the Americas:
Classification credit: MotoGP.com
