MOTOGP: Bagnaia concedes that he needs a "reset" before the second half of the season
Having finished last Sunday's Czech Grand Prix in fourth place, two-time MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia conceded that he will need a "reset" before the action continued at the Red Bull Ring.
Having secured pole position on Saturday, Francesco Bagnaia started the Brno race from pole position. However, his team-mate Marc Márquez quickly took over the lead, going past the Italian at Turn 3.
The Spaniard was then unable to maintain the lead, slipping to third. He returned to second place on lap two and tailed Aprilia rival Marco Bezzecchi until the eighth lap, when he overtook his rival at turn three before pulling away for good in the second half of the race.
Bagnaia, after a good start, lost touch with the leading trio. The two-time MotoGP champion then found a strong rhythm and closed the gap but was unable to challenge for third in the final stages.
As the twelfth Grand Prix of the season comes to a close, Marc Márquez increases his tally to 381 points, extending his lead to 120 over Alex Márquez. Francesco Bagnaia is third, 168 points behind his teammate.
The Borgo Panigale-based team continues to lead the teams’ standings (594 points), with Ducati also maintaining the top spot in the manufacturers’ standings (430 points).
Reflecting on his race at Brno, Bagnaia noted: “As the race progressed, I managed rear-end traction better and felt more comfortable as soon as I lowered the traction control level.
"As we didn’t have a dry FP2, I wasn’t able to do proper work with the mapping, so with less traction control this area did improve. The front-end, however, did not allow me to hit the brakes hard.
"I’ve always been a rider who was hard to pass under braking, while the situation is opposite right now. We’re working in different areas in order to improve.
"Surely, the approach to the season has changed after these many races as it’s hard to think about fighting with Marc in these conditions — we must be realists. We need to reset and do the best we can, keeping Alex (Márquez) as our reference point," concluded Bagnaia.
