Marco Bezzecchi
Francesco Bagnaia qualified eighth at the San Marino Grand Prix on Saturday. In the context of recent sessions, he may be quietly satisfied with that result.
A week ago in Barcelona, Bagnaia suffered his worst qualifying for three years as he took 21st on the grid. That came after another Q1 exit in Hungary (P15).
The two-time world champion targeted the top five after a stronger Friday showing at Misano. While he fell short of that objective, he’ll be relieved that he’s in a position to fight.
Marc Marquez told Bagnaia to ‘reset’ this weekend after a horror show at the Catalan GP. It looks as if his teammate may have taken heed of that advice.
Francesco Bagnaia says he’s taking the same approach as Enea Bastianini at Misano
Speaking to outlets including MOW on Friday evening, Bagnaia noted an improvement in rear grip, partly aided by the track surface. This allowed him to be more aggressive through corners.
In addition to those mechanical improvements, he’s also adopted the same approach as Enea Bastianini – his former Ducati factory teammate. Bagnaia finished more than 100 points ahead of his fellow countryman last season.
Bastianini may only be 12th in the standings, but his trajectory is impressive. He was 15th when he withdrew from the German GP with illness, compounding a rather desperate start to his Tech3 career.
In just four weekends since, he’s doubled his seasonal points tally to 84 and scored two podiums – one in the Brno Sprint and one in the Grand Prix at the Circuit de Catalunya. Bastianini ‘realised’ that he would have to adapt to the bike after trying to ride it like last year’s Ducati.
“Bastianini said that at a certain point he stopped touching the bike and at a certain point he realised that he would have to adapt himself? In a certain sense, that’s what I’m doing too,” said Bagnaia.
“Having a lot of grip at the rear allows me to ride the way I like: stopping the bike well, turning in hard. I’m also able to have more lean angle without losing too much in the corners, especially on the left.”
Though he was only 20th on Saturday after a Q1 fall, Bastianini may have been unsettled by losing his crew chief Alberto Giribuola, who will work with Toprak Razgatlioglu at Pramac next season.
Davide Tardozzi says Pecco Bagnaia has ‘found something’ at San Marino Grand Prix
Speaking to TNT Sports shortly before qualifying, Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi predicted that Misano could be a turning point for his rider. He’s gained confidence from set-up tweaks and the support of his home crowd.
Bagnaia had told Luigi Dall’Igna he couldn’t make a step forward during a team meeting in Barcelona, but he seems to be more optimistic on the Rimini Riviera. He finished fourth at Mugello in June, the other Italian stop on the calendar.
“I think that, after suffering a bit during the first part of the season, we found something that helps his confidence, mainly in the front,” said Tardozzi. “Misano could be the turn race, we’ll see.
“Some different set-ups help him, and the home race track helps a lot. We really hope to see Pecco back in last year’s shape.”
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