Bagnaia Breaks Lap Record, Declares Ducati ‘Almost Ready’ for Austrian MotoGP Race

Bagnaia "nearly set for the race" after record-breaking lap in Austrian MotoGP Practice

Francesco Bagnaia led the Friday Practice sessions for the Austrian MotoGP, announcing that his motorcycle is "nearly set for the race".

Traditionally, Fridays haven't been the strongest day for Francesco Bagnaia during a race weekend. However, at the Austrian Grand Prix this weekend, the Italian rider clocked the fastest time on the first day.

On Friday afternoon, Bagnaia established a brand-new lap record during Practice, capping off a day where he nearly perfected everything.

"I'm pleased because I believe we made the right choices throughout the day, except for one decision regarding the use of the hard front tire," Bagnaia mentioned to MotoGP.com at the end of Friday. "I chose not to use the hard front tire after observing that many riders, such as Brad Binder, Pedro Acosta, and Aleix Espargaro, had crashes with it," he explained.

"Jorge [Martin] showed good speed with it," Bagnaia commented, "although he wasn't as quick as he was with the medium [front tyre], he maintained a steady pace."

The current titleholder consulted with Enea Bastianini, who is based on the opposite side of the factory Ducati team, on Friday afternoon.

"I inquired about his thoughts on the hard-compound front tire. He mentioned that it felt alright, but he needed to be more cautious on the left side. To be honest, he didn’t seem very confident, so I opted to stick with the medium tire."

Bagnaia mentioned that he chose to use the medium-compound front tire, but he didn't feel entirely at ease with it. "I'm not very pleased with the medium [front tire] and lack confidence on the left side, [but] I opted for the medium anyway," he stated.

Overall, it turned out to be a good day for Bagnaia, who believes he's almost prepared for the race.

“Frankly, things are going smoothly. I'm pleased with the bike and how it feels. The time trial was successful, and while there's a bit to tweak for tomorrow, the bike is nearly race-ready.”

As Bagnaia anticipates the upcoming race, his primary worry appears to be the weather conditions. When questioned about the potential use of a hard-compound front tire for the Grand Prix, Bagnaia responded, "If the temperature decreases slightly, the medium tire might perform better."

"However, it really hinges on the weather, as it seems there might be rain on Sunday during the race. We could even end up having a flag-to-flag race. But we’ll have to wait and see, as the weather here is quite unpredictable and changes daily. The forecast already mentioned rain for today and tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens. Nonetheless, we’re pleased with today’s progress and need to stay optimistic for tomorrow."

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