Francesco Bagnaia explains costly crash that ended his 'strange' Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
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Published 22/09/2024 at 17:30 GMT+1
Francesco Bagnaia had the opportunity to take the lead of the MotoGP World Championship after outsmarting rival Jorge Martin at the first corner of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix, yet dropped to third before a crash ended his afternoon early. Bagnaia started on pole but struggled to manage his medium tyres, allowing Martin and Enea Bastianini past before a front lock-up cost him dearly.
Highlights: Bastianini beats Martin in gripping duel to win at Misano after Bagnaia crash
Video credit: TNT Sports
Francesco Bagnaia called his Emilia Romagna Grand Prix a "strange" day and detailed the front lock-up and crash that ended his afternoon in Misano.
Bagnaia started on pole and led the opening laps but dropped to third behind Jorge Martin and eventual race winner Enea Bastianini, though he was recovering in the second half of the race before losing control of his Ducati to finish pointless.
Bastianini slightly softened the blow with his gutsy winning overtake on the final lap to deny Martin victory, but after Bagnaia’s Emilia Romagna Sprint win reduced his deficit to Martin to four points before the grand prix, the reigning champion now leaves Italy 24 points behind.
Bagnaia has six rounds left to close the gap with Bastianini now also entering the title battle, and he spoke to TNT Sports about an opportunity missed in Misano.
“Fastest with the medium [tyres] Friday afternoon, fastest after 15 laps with the mediums in the race, I just needed 15 laps to warm the rear tyres or get the rear working,” Baignaia said.Â
Baignaia continued: “So it is a new thing, it never happened to me - this kind of thing never happened to anyone - so it is a new story but we will be ready next time.
“I was pushing very hard but I was very careful on the braking because from the start I had a lot of front locking. I was quite calm, I did not push too much in the braking because I know it could be a problem. And I locked the front when I was straight.
“Everything was quite strange today, it is what it is. Surely it is better to ride in another track, we have to reset and I am quite good to do it, we will try again in Indonesia.”
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Bagnaia crashes out of the Emilia Romagna Grand Prix
Video credit: TNT Sports
Hodgson: We have seen swings in the championship
Cancellations to scheduled weekends in India and Kazakhstan meant riders enjoyed a double-header in Emilia Romagna, and the momentum seemed with Bagnaia after he finished second in the San Marino Grand Prix as Martin scored just a single point.
However, this crash has undone all the ground Bagnaia had made up at Misano, and TNT Sports’ Neil Hodgson stressed the significance of that reversal.
“Think what he [Martin] was like two weeks ago, he was super down in the dumps because he had made a big mistake and it was quite shocking,” Hodgson said.
“So two weeks ago he had his head in his hands, now he has [a] 24-point lead in this championship and not only that, the swing of knowing your main rival took the front in his home grand prix.
“We have seen big swings in championships recently so absolutely it is not over, tricky tracks coming up, anything can happen."
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