Bagnaia Clinches Misano Sprint Victory Citing Critical Martin Mistake

Francesco Bagnaia acknowledges that Jorge Martin's error was crucial for his victory in the Misano MotoGP sprint race

Bagnaia admits winning the Misano sprint in MotoGP would have been difficult without Martin's mishap

Francesco Bagnaia mentioned that Jorge Martin's error during the MotoGP Emilia Romagna Grand Prix sprint race was a crucial moment for him, as passing Martin had proven to be a significant challenge.

The current world champion achieved a new lap record to secure the first position on the grid on Saturday at Misano. However, he was overtaken at the start by Pramac racer Martin in the sprint race once again.

The duo maintained a single-file formation for the initial seven laps until Martin erred at Turn 13 during the eighth lap, enabling Bagnaia to take the lead, which he kept until the race concluded.

Bagnaia's victory in the sprint has narrowed Martin's lead in the championship to a mere four points before the grand prix on Sunday.

Following the race, Bagnaia mentioned that his victory might not have occurred if not for Martin's mistake.

"Thrilled about the outcome and the race itself, as I believe Jorge and I achieved something remarkable in terms of speed: we were six seconds quicker than we were just two weeks prior," he started.

"It's remarkable. The lap speeds we achieved would have placed us on the second row for the qualifying rounds, which is highly significant for me, and for us.

"And the next day will follow suit."

"Thus, we must kick off stronger than we did today since I fell behind by two spots. Tomorrow, my goal is to get off to the best possible start and establish my rhythm, as I believe we possess considerable potential to bridge the gap."

This time around, there was a slight change from a fortnight ago, primarily because my physical health had improved.

"I found myself better able to utilize my body to manage the movement and handle the tyres more effectively."

"It was significantly beneficial because with six laps to go, I managed to pass him. From then on, I attempted to increase my lead and maintain control over the distance between us."

"I required these errors as attempting was quite challenging. My goal was to accomplish it within one or two tries, and undoubtedly, being in top physical shape significantly contributed."

Bagnaia pinpointed multiple sections of the circuit where he contemplated executing a pass, but admits he’ll need to devise a new strategy for the grand prix if he ends up trailing Martin once more.

"He mentioned considering making a move on Martin at corner 14, as well as corners two, four, and six," he stated regarding his passing strategy.

"Whenever we need to switch our approach, that's where I see an advantage. It was definitely a gamble, but going into tomorrow, it'll be crucial to come up with a strategy in case we fall behind."

Just before Bagnaia moved into the lead position, he experienced a significant front end incident as he navigated Turn 5.

He attributes the issue to the newly applied white lines being overly slick.

"Fortunately, managing it wasn't difficult," he remarked about the lap seven incident.

"However, the freshly painted white lines have become quite slick, indicating that the job was not well executed this time."

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