Francis Bagnaia began the summer break of MotoGP far from satisfied with his performance during the first part of the season. Although he secured a pole position and eight podium finishes, including a sprint race victory, he did not win any Grand Prix, and mostly finished between fifth and tenth position.
Although he did not find himself in such a catastrophic situation as last year, where he repeatedly finished at the back of the pack, and remained present at the front, he lacked a little something to ride alongside the Aprilia riders as well as the other Ducati representatives equipped with a GP26 like him: the Márquez brothers and Fabio Di Giannantonio.
“The GP26, like last year’s, is closer to the 2023 model than some other bikes I preferred. 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 Márquez, and we complain about the same things.”he said during the German Grand Prix.
However, while Álex Márquez also encountered difficulties at the start of the season, he ultimately returned to his best form despite the two challenging months he endured with significant injuries. How the Spanish rider managed to find grip remains a mystery. Francis Bagnaiawho hopes to draw inspiration from him and his data, in order to hopefully find answers for the second part of the season.
“We’re making a lot of progress, but since the first race, we still haven’t solved the main problem: a lack of rear grip that prevents me from turning and accelerating. Álex Márquez was the only Ducati rider to encounter the same problem before Jerez, but he and the Gresini team managed to solve it. There’s no magic bullet, but we hope to understand how he and the team achieved it, perhaps guiding us in the same direction.”
"I therefore hope that this summer break will allow the team to find the solution."he added, believing that his first part of the season was worth "5,5 or 6"In the meantime, he will be able to recharge with his family, for his first summer as a father, after the birth of his son Oliviero three weeks ago.
Main photo credit: Gold and Goose