Pecco Bagnaia on recovering from sprint nightmares: “I know perfectly my potential”

Francesco Bagnaia put yet another sprint race disappointment behind him to win the Catalunya MotoGP.

After crashing from the lead of the sprint on the final lap, Bagnaia was calculated in his approach to the grand prix as he picked off Jorge Martin with six laps to go.

While riders pushed their rear tyres too hard, Bagnaia was steady in the opening laps before claiming the lead at the first overtaking attempt.

But it came after another sprint where he lost points to Martin, which led the two-time MotoGP champion to admit he needs to improve on Saturdays.

“The sprint races are there,” began Bagnaia. “I have to improve myself because we are always competitive.

“In the last three sprint races we were competitive but we had two crashes and one problem with the bike.

“I’m losing a lot of points but yesterday I would have won but I crashed on the last lap. It is something I have to improve but my team is giving the maximum and normally I struggle more but this year I am feeling good in every sprint race.

“It is a matter of finishing it and taking points because last year it’s true that I was struggling a bit but I was finishing every sprint race.

“There are less points but for the championship it helps a lot. It’s good that every Sunday we are competitive but I’m tired of losing in a big way on Saturday.”

While Bagnaia will need to improve in the sprints if he wants to become a three-time MotoGP champion, the factory Ducati rider is not concerned about his missed opportunities.

Bagnaia is arguably the best rider at putting setbacks behind him, and his performance in Catalunya demonstrated that once again.

Not losing sleep over his sprint difficulties, Bagnaia said: “I can be very focused on the objective. I know when I make a mistake that I can be disappointed, nervous, angry, but I know perfectly well my potential.

“If everything is okay I can fight for the win, I can fight for the top positions. This is something that helps me to always prepared to fight.

“Even if I have a difficult Saturday I can have a good Sunday. The potential is there.

“My team is there and my bike is there and everything is there for me to be fast.”