Bagnaia Battles Demons of Past at Mandalika: A Glimpse into the World Champion’s Indonesian MotoGP Practice Ordeal

Francesco Bagnaia experienced a sense of déjà vu from the previous year during the Indonesian MotoGP practice sessions. The reigning world champion opens up about his inconsistent performance on Friday at Mandalika.

MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia expressed that he was experiencing a sense of déjà vu from last year's challenging Indonesian Grand Prix as he faced difficulties on Friday at the Mandalika circuit.

Bagnaia successfully secured a spot in Q2 for Saturday's qualifying round in Indonesia, yet he was at risk of experiencing a similar scenario to what occurred in 2023 in the country.

In the previous season, Bagnaia didn't advance beyond the first qualifying session, letting Jorge Martin momentarily move ahead in the championship standings following the sprint race. However, he managed to recover from a 13th-place start to clinch victory in the main race.

Bagnaia described that he experienced discomfort in right-hand turns while riding on the medium tyre. However, he noticed a significant improvement immediately after changing to a soft rear tyre for his time attack.

"He described experiencing the same sense of dread as the previous year, likening it to a recurring nightmare."

"Fortunately, once we switched to the softer rear tire, everything began functioning as usual again."

"Unfortunately, we experienced a delay in the initial segment of the session before we could proceed with the time attack."

"We were experimenting, but I was experiencing discomfort on my right side and found it quite challenging to exert myself."

"Once we switched to the soft rear tire, everything began functioning properly again."

"I'm truly elated about this. We succeeded in significantly reducing our lap times and securing a position within the top five."

"Pleased with the outcome, yet it's essential we delve into the reasons behind it, as it's quite peculiar how simply switching from medium to soft tires significantly enhanced our lap times."

"However, I believe it's a development that should offer us significant comfort following the events of that day."

Enea Bastianini, riding for Ducati, set a new lap record in Indonesia on Friday, leading the pack, with his team-mate Martin trailing him by a mere fraction.

On the medium tire, both exhibited impressive long-run speed, yet Bagnaia feels he is more competitive than his Friday performance indicates.

"I believe that for tomorrow, I'm feeling positive since we'll be heading out in the morning with the used soft, and during the sprint, I anticipate we'll opt for the soft," he further mentioned.

During the extended race, I observed Enea and Martin performing remarkably well on their laps. Frankie [Morbidelli] also had a great performance this morning.

"Therefore, I believe we share more similarities with them than with the events of today, so I prefer not to dwell too much on today's occurrences."

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