BAGNAIA MISSES TOP 10 IN ARAGON QUALIFYING AFTER LATE LAP ERROR

Pecco Bagnaia’s Aragon weekend began in frustration after he could only manage P13 in qualifying, a result that left him facing an extra challenge on Saturday because his teammate Marc Marquez was able to go straight through Q2. Bagnaia, the two-time MotoGP champion with Ducati, had still been in contention for a top-10 place during his final flying lap, but a mistake in the last corner sent him wide into the run-off. He nearly ended up in the gravel, and the session ultimately slipped away.

Speaking after the session, Bagnaia admitted he did not expect the outcome. “I didn’t expect this,” he said. “I would have expected to be much faster here. But unfortunately it went dumb. My feeling has changed since Silverstone. In Silverstone and on the Sachsenring I had confidence and I thought we would improve. Also the results were better. But since Silverstone I don’t feel so good. I’ve had problems with the normal things—I was also in danger of crashing even at very low speed.”

Bagnaia described a chaotic final stretch, explaining that he pushed hard in the last lap to try to salvage a top-10. “In the last lap I tried everything to get into the top-10. Then I went too far in the last corner and had to back off. I didn’t stay in the pit lane. I was in an emergency situation and very angry with myself because I didn’t manage a single proper lap. In that situation it’s dangerous to say things without thinking and not to appreciate the team’s work. It was good that I calmed down on my own. Later I went back to the pits and we spoke at length with the team.”

When asked what was missing, Bagnaia pointed to braking and rear grip as the main issues. “What I miss the most is on the brakes at corner entry. Also the grip at the rear wheel gives me trouble. Honestly, the grip on track looks good, because it’s more consistent than elsewhere,” he said. “But my problem is: when I turn in, I immediately lose the rear wheel without doing anything. And when I go on the gas—even at 10 or 15 percent—I lose the rear. Even if I haven’t fully stood the bike up yet, there’s a lot of movement in the bike. That’s how it is. I think the team has a good idea for tomorrow. I hope it will work. Alex Marquez seems to have made the difference here, so I’ll also look at his data.”

Bagnaia also addressed his physical condition ahead of the next session. At a media appearance he wore an electronic massage device on his hand, explaining it was “magnet therapy” because he had an inflammation. He added that while it can be easier to fine-tune when the body is fully fit, the inflammation was not expected to limit his speed: “Luckily my inflammation doesn’t affect my speed.”