Ducati, Pecco Bagnaia struggles: "We need to understand how others do"

Ducati centaur Pecco Bagnaia commented bitterly on the MotoGP pre-qualifying in Catalonia, which saw him finish 12th. The Piedmontese rider will have to go through Q1 to be able to play for pole in official qualifying. “Until two years ago Barcelona was my circuit, now the situation has changed, but it is not as bad as on other occasions this year. There is a lot of work to do, a lot to understand,” said the two-time MotoGP world champion, who is alone in the pit box this weekend due to the enforced absence of Marc Marquez.

“We lack grip, the other Ducatis seem to have more grip because when they accelerate the bike slips less.” Alex Marquez finished second, while Fabio Di Giannantonio was sixth. “I slide a lot and I have no traction. We know what we have to work on and that is good. Understanding why it happens is not easy, because the balance of the bike here is a bit unusual,” are the words reported by Motorsport.

“We have a lot of ups and downs,” concluded Bagnaia. Di Giannantonio, on the other hand, manages to maintain consistency. We have to understand why and how he does it.”

Leading the pre-qualifying standings was Pedro Acosta, author of an excellent 1:38.710 riding the official KTM. The Spaniard was just 18 thousandths ahead of Alex Marquez of the Gresini team, while third place went to Brad Binder on the second factory KTM. Bagnaia finished twelfth with a delay of 0.350 from the top, just one thousandth behind Enea Bastianini with the KTM Tech3.

It is not only Bagnaia who had to pass from Q1: Jorge Martin, back from the triumphant weekend at Le Mans and among the most in-form riders of the moment, also stayed out of the top ten. For the former world champion, this is the first time this season outside direct access to Q2, due to a crash in the closing minutes of the session that compromised his final attempt.