Francesco Bagnaia Relives Past Struggles During Challenging Friday at Mandalika

Francesco Bagnaia Relives Past Struggles During Challenging Friday at Mandalika

MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia faced a tense Friday at the Mandalika circuit, echoing the struggles he encountered during the previous year’s Indonesian Grand Prix.

Despite ultimately securing a spot in Q2 for Saturday’s qualifying session, Bagnaia experienced significant challenges reminiscent of 2023, when he failed to progress past Q1, allowing Jorge Martin to momentarily take the championship lead.

Reflecting on his performance, Bagnaia shared his concerns regarding the medium tyre, stating he “didn’t feel well” in the right-hand corners. However,

he noted a marked improvement when he switched to the soft rear tyre for his time attack. “I was reliving the nightmare from last year,” he remarked, emphasizing the similarities in his feelings on track.

Despite these initial struggles, the introduction of the soft rear tyre proved beneficial. “Everything started to work again like normal,” Bagnaia noted, expressing relief as he improved his lap times significantly and placed himself in the top five by the end of the session.

He acknowledged the lost time in the early part of the session while experimenting with setups but remained optimistic about the adjustments made.

Ducati team-mate Enea Bastianini set the fastest time of the day, establishing a new lap record, with Jorge Martin closely trailing. While Bagnaia recognized their impressive long-run pace on the medium tyre, he maintained that he was closer to their performance than his Friday results suggested. “I think we are more like them than what happened today,” he asserted, looking ahead with confidence.

As he prepared for Saturday’s sprint and the long race, Bagnaia expressed optimism about using a used soft tyre, indicating he felt ready to compete with the front-runners. “I feel good for tomorrow,” he said, reinforcing his belief that the day’s challenges would not dictate his performance moving forward.

With a keen focus on resolving the issues faced on Friday, Bagnaia’s resilience and adaptability will be key as he navigates the remainder of the Indonesian Grand Prix weekend.