Francesco Bagnaia Urges Ducati to Resolve GP24 Starting Issues Amid Indonesian GP Struggles

Francesco Bagnaia urges Ducati to address GP24 MotoGP starting problems "immediately"

Starting issues lead to challenging Indonesian Grand Prix for Bagnaia

Francesco Bagnaia has emphasized that Ducati must urgently address the starting problems he has been experiencing lately after encountering yet another poor start at the MotoGP Indonesian Grand Prix.

The two-time world champion had a poor start from fourth position on the grid as his GP24 bike jolted and its rear tire spun. However, he swiftly managed to regain his position and was back in fourth place.

He eventually secured third place, but his poor start and excessive caution in the initial laps prevented him from contending with Jorge Martin for the victory.

Recent races have seen Bagnaia struggle with inconsistent starts, a problem he has urged Ducati to address swiftly.

Pecco Bagnaia, now trailing Martin by 21 points in the standings, expressed urgency: "As soon as possible, because in the last two seasons, my starts were always excellent in the final four grands prix from Aragon onwards. However, this time, I’ve been starting poorly and in varied ways each time."

"Today was unlike the previous day. The day before wasn't too difficult. The morning went well, but in the afternoon, I did a wheelie and lost control of the rear."

He mentioned, "I attempted to replicate the start I had yesterday, but the clutch responded differently. This caused a slight wheelie, and then the rear wheels began to spin."

"I didn't drop many places, but I was overly cautious during the initial laps after the start."

"I began to drop down in positions and found it challenging to regain them. Despite this, I was quick; after a few laps, my speed was very high – almost matching the fastest lap set by [Enea] Bastianini."

"My speed was quite impressive, but it still took me a significant amount of time to pass the competitors ahead. For instance, it took me 10 laps to get past Marco Bezzecchi due to the difficulties I faced with the traction on his bike."

"Once I passed Franco [Morbidelli], it became much simpler since he was riding the same bike as me, and I knew exactly how to handle it."

"Besides that, I'm pleased because today was challenging. We were able to secure some points in this race, and that's good."

In the initial laps of the grand prix, Bagnaia and Bastianini seemed to face difficulties with rear grip. Bagnaia even fell back to sixth position for a while, whereas Martin managed to surge ahead on his Pramac-operated GP24.

Bagnaia thinks that the GP24 tends to have trouble with rear grip at the beginning, but this can be offset during braking when there's no traffic.

He explained that during his slow initial laps, being at the front without anyone ahead allowed him to make up for the lack of rear grip by improving his braking, which helped him gain a lot of time.

“If you’re trailing behind, you can’t apply the brakes forcefully, you can’t accelerate as desired, and the rear tire might not be adequately prepared.”

“It might be a characteristic of the GP24 that affects performance when you’re trailing. However, after five or six laps, I regained my speed and felt strong. Unfortunately, I lost crucial time in those initial laps.”

Discover More

Sign Up for Our MotoGP Email Updates

Receive the newest MotoGP updates, exclusive content, interviews, and special offers straight from the paddock delivered to your email.

To learn more, please review our Privacy Policy.

Breaking News

Additional Updates

Website Map

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

It is prohibited to fully or partially reproduce text, images, or drawings in any manner.