“I have to improve the Sprints” - Francesco Bagnaia 5th for Saturday MotoGP points

MotoGP Sprint and Grand Prix-only points after 10 of 20 rounds.

Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia
Jorge Martin, Francesco Bagnaia

With just three points separating title leader Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia heading into the second half of the MotoGP season, the reigning double champion says it’s like “starting from zero” in Austria this weekend.

“For sure in this moment to be leading the championship is not that important. It's like starting from zero again. 10 races to go, and we have just three points between us,” Bagnaia said.

But he also knows a clear area for improvement.

At present, the Italian is relying heavily on his Sunday scores. Indeed, Bagnaia would lead the world championship by a healthy 38 points under the old (pre-Sprint) system.

However, Bagnaia’s Saturday-only tally of 45 points is just the fifth best this season behind Martin (86 points), Marc Marquez (58), Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales (51) and Enea Bastianini (47).

“It's true in this second part of the season, I have to improve the Sprint races because it's where Jorge is doing the difference and try to be perfect and smooth every time,” Bagnaia acknowledged.

The split Saturday and Sunday only points after 10 of 20 rounds can be seen below:

MotoGP standings ranked by Saturday only (Sprint) points
 RiderSprint PointsTotal Points
1Martin86241
2M. Marquez58179
3Viñales51130
4Bastianini47192
5Bagnaia45238
6Acosta43122
7A. Espargaro3999
8Binder25114
9Bezzecchi1861
10Di Giannantonio16104
11Miller1642
12A. Marquez1292
13Oliveira1151
14Quartararo949
15Pedrosa77
16A. Fernandez315
17R. Fernandez246
18Morbidelli161
19Mir113
20Zarco014
21Nakagami011
22Rins08
23Marini01
MotoGP standings ranked by Sunday only (GP) points
 RiderGP pointsTotal Points
1Bagnaia193238
2Martin155241
3Bastianini145192
4M. Marquez121179
5Binder89114
6Di Giannantonio88104
7A. Marquez8092
8Viñales79130
9Acosta79122
10A. Espargaro6099
11Morbidelli6061
12R. Fernandez4446
13Bezzecchi4361
14Oliveira4051
15Quartararo4049
16Miller2642
17Zarco1414
18A. Fernandez1215
19Mir1213
20Nakagami1111
21Rins88
22Marini11
23Pedrosa07

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