Pecco Bagnaia reveals why GP24 is dominating GP23

Francesco Bagnaia secured his third consecutive MotoGP win at Mugello on Sunday, taking his tally of wins in 2024 to four.

That’s more than half the grand prix’ so far this season, which is a big reason as to why Bagnaia managed to gain 21 points back against championship leader Jorge Martin.

Bagnaia, who also won the sprint on Saturday, recovered from a three-place grid penalty as he went from fifth to first in the space of two corners.

But Bagnaia admitted it wasn’t easy to lead and keep a hot pace, despite making it look comfortable.

Bagnaia said: “It was difficult to always have the same pace. I was trying to be as consistent as possible but after seven or eight laps I started to see that it was difficult with the front tyre.

“The drop with the rear was constant, but every time I tried to do the same lap times the front was having a lot of movement.

“I was losing it so I decided to use a different strategy which was to do a cool down lap between two fast laps. It worked perfectly.”

Ducati have won six of the first seven races this season and they have all come from riders aboard 2024 machinery.

Marc Marquez, riding the year-old GP23 has been close on occasion, but the difference in performance was clear at Mugello.

The GP24 was punching out of corners with greater speed as Marquez struggled to get on terms with Enea Bastianini.

But while the GP24 has improved and become a quicker bike, Bagnaia also said that the three riders on the podium in Mugello (himself, Martin and Bastianini) had something to do with that too.

Bagnaia added: “The GP24 is 1.5 seconds faster each lap. The fact is that, for sure, we have adapted well.

“Last year’s bike needed more time to adapt but it was a very good bike. In some tracks it was very competitive and in some tracks it was less competitive.

“Here, the GP23 was fantastic and also in Barcelona. It is difficult to know why.

“In the test at Jerez with the 23 [bike] they had a different exhaust valve which helped a lot with the problems they were facing last year. Now they are very similar.

“A win from a 23 bike will come soon. Also the level is very high and we are doing a very special job. We are not three slow riders. We are doing an excellent job.”