Pecco Bagnaia failed to capitalize on Marc Marquez’s crash, finishing only third in the Jerez Grand Prix.
It was a rather uneventful race for Bagnaia, who crossed the finish line in third place after 25 laps, staying behind Fabio Quartararo’s Yamaha. A disappointing result for the three-time world champion who, despite having a faster bike than the Frenchman, couldn’t mount a serious attack to claim second place and close the gap to the Marquez brothers in the standings.
A disappointment that Bagnaia himself explained to the press: “Honestly, I felt quite calm in the opening laps. There was some battling with Marc, then I started pushing to try to catch Fabio, but once I got close, I never had the momentum to pass him. From that point on, I really struggled. Unfortunately, I was missing my strong points on this track—turns 11 and 12—and I just couldn’t close in. In fact, I was even losing ground to Fabio. I spent the entire race between half a second and seven tenths behind him, but every time I got closer, I had to back off because it became too risky.”.
The Ducati rider, number 63, added: “In any case, I don’t like these kinds of races. Maybe, in trying to avoid mistakes, I don’t put myself in a position to really get close. It’s hard to explain, because last year I never had this kind of issue. We’ll need to analyze everything and understand why this is happening. I saw Marc was out, so it was a good opportunity to recover points, but I couldn’t get the most out of the bike. It had the potential to finish second ahead of Fabio, so I’m not really satisfied.”
Right now, the differences between the GP24 and GP25 seem to be making things more complicated for Bagnaia, as his comments suggest: “Even when comparing data—Alex’s laps this year with mine from last year—they’re very similar. But when I compare my laps this year, there are some differences. It’s hard to understand, because the bike is extremely similar, but he’s able to push the front even in the fast sections without major front-end issues,”
Meanwhile, I’ve been struggling a lot. As soon as I get a bit closer, the front becomes very light, and I lose it often. Today during the race I had front-end moments several times in turns 8, 11, and 12, so I had to ride much more cautiously, and I didn’t feel free to push. Yesterday morning we made a step forward and I finally felt better. So now it’s time to keep working in that direction, because there’s definitely room for improvement.”
Photo: X Ducati Corse