MotoGP Indian GP
Bagnaia 'cannot make mistakes' like India crash after MotoGP points lead slashed
Ducati MotoGP rider Francesco Bagnaia concedes he "cannot do" mistakes like the one that took him out of the MotoGP Indian Grand Prix after it decimated his championship lead.
Rachit Thukral
Edited: Sep 25, 2023, 3:16 AM
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At the start of the month, Bagnaia had appeared on course to score back-to-back titles, having arrived in Barcelona with a 62-point lead following his fifth victory of the season in Austria.
But after extending that advantage even further in the Barcelona sprint, Bagnaia suffered a major highside at the start of the Catalan GP that knocked him out of the race and compromised his physical condition for the next round at Misano.
Bagnaia still carried a healthy 36-point lead coming to Delhi for the inaugural Indian GP, but the Italian rider lost control of his Ducati once again, recording his third retirement of the season.
The 26-year-old had been running second on lap 13 of 21, having just passed main title rival Jorge Martin for second, when he fell off his GP23 and hit the deck at Turn 5.
With VR46’s Marco Bezzecchi winning the race from pole position and Martin holding on to second from Yamaha rival Fabio Quartararo, the DNF comes as a major blow to Bagnaia's title aspirations as it has shrunk his lead to just 13 points.
Bagnaia explained that he had to ride on the limit in order to put up a fight to Ducati stablemates Bezzecchi and Martin and had to "accept" the risk of racing the hard front tyre having not felt comfortable on the medium.
“I was pushing,” said Bagnaia, who was one of the only two riders to opt for a hard front tyre on the grid.
“We accepted the risk to race with the harder [tyre]. We don't know why but honestly all the other Ducatis were accepting the medium front more, and I was not. I had some trouble with the medium and was having a lot of locking.
“I was having a lot of problems on the braking right now. Till that moment it was good. I was feeling better than on the medium, on the limit, absolutely on the limit, and when you are too on the limit it's something that can happen.
“But it was the only possibility to fight against them. Bezzecchi today was unbeatable, but we were there with Jorge and as soon as I overtook him I didn't increase my pace. It was the same.
“But as soon as the rear came back from the slide [braking for Turn 5] it pushed the front and I lost it. It's something that can happen.
“I'm not happy because I think this doesn't have to happen to me, because I'm fighting for a championship. It's a mistake that right now I cannot do."
Bagnaia felt that braking became Ducati’s weakest point at the Buddh International Circuit, having previously been one of the strengths of the Desmosedici package.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“I also think that we don't have to be in the same situation like this weekend and like Misano, because our strongest point was always the braking,” he explained.
“Right now, it's our weak point because I can't stop the bike, my rear is shaking a lot and we are not honestly understanding why. So yesterday we had a meeting and today it was impossible to solve the problems, obviously, but for Japan, for sure, we will understand it better.”
Bagnaia’s poor run of races has coincided with an upturn of form for Martin, with the Pramac rider getting a perfect score in Misano and finishing first and second respectively in the two races in India.
Bagnaia admitted that Martin has the momentum on his side heading to next weekend’s Japanese GP at Motegi, but is confident the factory Ducati squad will be able to come up with a solution for the braking issue that compromised him in India.
“My feeling is that my team will solve it,” he said. “I'm not worried because my team has my 100% support on that, and I know perfectly that we will find a solution, and our strongest point will be the brake again.
“It will not be easy for sure. Jorge has this momentum but today he finished eight seconds after Bezzecchi. So Bezzecchi today and also yesterday was too strong for him but for us in general.
“I want to be back in my position, that is this one. We finished Austria leading the races in an incredible way.
“In Barcelona we were fighting against Aprilia and the second Ducati was far behind. As soon as we arrive to Misano, something different happened, my home grand prix, and I was feeling not well like always.
“So absolutely my team have my 100% support and we will solve the problem because normally we never give for us.”
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