Pecco Bagnaia Stands Firm on Racing Strategy Despite Seventh DNF Blow in 2024 MotoGP Season

Pecco Bagnaia confronted with questions following his seventh retirement of 2024

The MotoGP titleholder faced inquiries on whether he plans to adopt a different strategy

Francesco Bagnaia has stated that his strategy for MotoGP competitions will remain the same at the Indonesian Grand Prix, even though a seventh did-not-finish (DNF) in 2024 has pushed him further down in the standings.

The current two-time world champion demonstrated impressive speed during the previous weekend's Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, securing the pole position in qualifying before going on to claim victory in the sprint race.

Issues with his Michelin tires held him back, making him much slower for the initial stages of the grand prix. However, he later managed to accelerate and catch up with the frontrunners.

Bagnaia experienced a crash on the 21st lap out of 27, when he was in third place, enabling Jorge Martin, who was in second, to extend his lead in the standings to 24 points, up from a mere four-point lead following the sprint.

This was his seventh instance of not completing a race this year, surpassing by two the instances where he didn't score in both 2022 and 2023, years when he clinched the championship.

He expressed on Thursday at Mandalika, "My strategy remains unchanged: I'll keep striving, aiming to be at the forefront, and pursuing victories."

"Currently, I'm trailing by 24 points, meaning it's not an insurmountable gap, but it's not negligible either."

"Thus, my current view is that I must tackle this segment of the season with assertiveness and consider altering my tactics after the upcoming two races. For now, my focus is on exerting considerable effort."

Michelin stated following the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix that it required a period to examine the data from Bagnaia's tires to identify the issue.

On Thursday in Indonesia, the Italian racer was unable to provide a clear reason for the tyre issues he experienced at Misano.

"Regarding the incident with the speed, it's challenging to make a statement," he mentioned.

At the beginning of the race, it was quite challenging to accelerate. The connection with the rear tire wasn't optimal for me.

We engaged in extensive discussions with Michelin, aiming to collaborate as usual in our efforts to evolve and enhance collectively.

Regarding the accident, it's not an unprecedented event.

"I admit it was my error. However, when you ease up on the brakes and ensure your bike is straighter, it becomes simpler to avoid front-end slips."

"However, it's a phenomenon we've observed this season. The Sunday was peculiar because throughout the weekend I felt exceptionally well, yet during the race, I found it challenging to maintain the pace I had set during practice."

"Our attention is already turned towards this weekend. Last season, we had a strong performance on Sunday, and we aim to leverage that success to enhance our competitiveness throughout the entire weekend."

Discover More

Sign up for our MotoGP Newsletter

Receive the newest updates, behind-the-scenes exclusives, in-depth interviews, and special offers from the circuit straight to your email.

For additional details, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

Recent Updates

Additional News

Site Index

Crash.Net

©1999-2024 Crash Media Group

Reproducing text, photographs, or illustrations, either in whole or in part, is strictly prohibited in any format.