Francesco Bagnaia Exposes reason of cause at Aragon Sprint woes | Grid “very dangerous”

 

Francesco Bagnaia, the reigning MotoGP champion, endured a disappointing performance in the Aragon MotoGP Sprint race, where he finished a distant ninth after starting from the front row. Although he didn’t explicitly mention tyre issues, Bagnaia hinted at factors beyond his control as the root cause of his lackluster showing.

Bagnaia’s troubles began immediately at the start, as he struggled to get off the line from the dirty side of the grid. Dropping to sixth place, he quickly recovered by overtaking Miguel Oliveira and Alex Márquez, positioning himself behind the leading trio of Marc Márquez, Jorge Martín, and Pedro Acosta by the second lap.

However, instead of making progress, Bagnaia began to lose ground, slipping further back and eventually crossing the finish line in ninth place. The Italian

made a “second-time” gesture to his Michelin engineer upon returning to the Ducati garage, signaling his frustration with a recurring issue.

“[It was the] same thing that happened yesterday morning,” Bagnaia explained to MotoGP.com. “Out of our control. It’s not something about our bike, our team, or me. It’s something that can happen. The thing is it’s happened twice in the same weekend. So I really hope that for tomorrow it will be better.”

Bagnaia elaborated on his struggles, noting that he knew something was amiss from the moment he reached Turn 5. “As soon as I got to Turn 5, I immediately understood that something wasn’t right, and then things kept getting worse,” he said. “It was a tough race because I was struggling on both corner entry and mid-corner, and I was lapping really slow.”

He expressed disappointment, believing he could have battled with Martín for a higher position had the circumstances been different. He also praised Marc Márquez, who dominated the Sprint and led every session he participated in over the weekend, highlighting the Spaniard’s ability to lean more aggressively without losing grip.

Bagnaia’s difficulties in the Sprint race were compounded by a poor start, which he attributed to the dirty condition of the grid. He joined other riders, including Aleix Espargaró and Álex Rins, in criticizing the lack of track cleaning, stating that the dirty grid contributed to his sideways start.

“I was starting from the dirty side of the grid. In the Safety Commission yesterday, I clearly asked, ‘Please clean the track and the starting grid,’ because if not it could be a problem. And it was a problem,” Bagnaia said. “I was just lucky that Álex [Márquez] had good reflexes behind me because he was able to not hit me, but it was very dangerous.”

In response to the riders’ concerns, MotoGP announced a practice start session on the grid after the Sunday Warm-Up, in an attempt to address the issue.

Meanwhile, Marc Márquez secured his first Sprint race victory as a Ducati rider, further showcasing his dominance at Aragon. Bagnaia’s struggles, combined with Márquez’s win, have caused the MotoGP title lead to shift back in favor of Jorge Martín, who now holds a three-point advantage heading into Sunday’s full-length grand prix.

With high temperatures and signs of blistering on the new Aragon asphalt during the Sprint, Michelin announced on Saturday night that the Soft rear tyre would not be available for Sunday’s race. All riders, including Bagnaia, are expected to use the medium rear tyre, paired with a medium front, for the grand prix.

Bagnaia now faces the challenge of regrouping and finding a solution for the main race, where he will aim to reclaim the championship lead and bounce back from a tough Sprint race.I