In Assen, Bagnaia gains more kilometers in the lead and sets the fastest lap of the race—he sees progress, but his problems are not yet solved.
After Mugello, Francesco Bagnaia’s winning streak came to an end in Assen after three years. He lost positions in the sprint and finished fifth. “The sprint races are actually always more or less the same for me,” sighs the Ducati rider.
“I have trouble being aggressive in the first few laps. After that, my rhythm is good – I was faster than the guys in front of me, but I couldn’t close the gap. It’s been like that ever since the sprints were added to the weekend.”
“I start normally, but then everyone overtakes me and I always struggle to feel the same grip and braking performance. It’s always the same. I get stuck there, others come up from behind, overtake me, and I can’t get away.”
“The sprint races always go something like this for me.” The only technical difference between the sprint and the Grand Prix is a smaller tank in the short race. Bagnaia is the only rider in the field who feels a significant difference as a result.
Things went better for the former world champion in the Grand Prix. He prevailed against KTM rider Pedro Acosta in the battle for third place. At the finish line, he was only slightly behind his teammate Marc Marquez and Aprilia spearhead Marco Bezzecchi.
Bagnaia also set the fastest lap of the race. “For the first time this season, I felt that I had a strong pace throughout the weekend. But in the race, I ended up in the same place as always.”
“I more or less always fight in the same way,” says Bagnaia. “I’m there, I can attack, even in the first lap, but then there’s a little dip that costs me a bit in the middle of the race. After that, I’m fast again.”
“Unfortunately, I’m finding it harder to follow someone this year. As soon as I catch up, I don’t have the right feeling for the front wheel – it moves around a lot, locks up, understeers. I have problems with this bike in the braking phase when entering corners.“
”In Assen, it’s almost all braking and turning in because the corners are very fast. And that’s exactly where my problem lies: I can’t slow the bike down where I want to. I have to let it turn in, but a little further out – not on the ideal line for acceleration.”
Nevertheless, Bagnaia sees progress
It’s a problem Bagnaia has had since the start of the season and one he describes in exactly the same way every race weekend. But: “It’s also true that we’re improving from session to session. After ten races, we’re almost there – now we just need to take the next step in the race.”
“For the second time in a row, I was fast enough to fight at the front in the first phase of the race,” he said, referring to his laps in the lead. “We just have to take the positives. I’m confident that we’re not far off – we’re getting closer.”
“I lost a lot of confidence at Le Mans and Silverstone because I didn’t understand what was happening. But the last three Grands Prix – Aragon, Mugello, and this weekend – have been the best of the season.“
”I was able to push hard and had a really strong pace on both used and new tires, so confidence is growing again. But it’s true that it’s difficult to change the DNA of a motorcycle.”
“I’m now trying to change my approach and not try to change the bike so much, because that often just leads to mistakes. It’s easier to get used to what you’re riding and adapt.”
In the World Championship, Bagnaia’s gap to his teammate has grown to 126 points. He readily admits that Marc Marquez is currently on a different level: “Marc is doing a fantastic job with this bike.”
“Now we’re coming to tracks where Marc is usually very strong, such as the Sachsenring. But as he said himself, this year he’s fast where he used to struggle, and he’s having more problems on tracks where I’m usually fast.“
”So, let’s see. We’ll try to be competitive there too.” Last year, Bagnaia won at the Sachsenring after Jorge Martin crashed in Turn 1 shortly before the end of the race.