Francesco Bagnaia explains “scientific” reason for Thai MotoGP sprint struggles
Factory Ducati rider was distant third in first sprint of 2025
Francesco Bagnaia says there is a “scientific” explanation for why he struggled to advance on third in the MotoGP Thai Grand Prix sprint on Saturday.
Having started the sprint era in 2023 as one of the strongest Saturday riders on the grid, Bagnaia proved more inconsistent in the half-distance races in 2024 even if he did still manage seven wins.
Qualifying third on Saturday at the 2025 season-opener at Buriram, Bagnaia couldn’t match the pace of race winning team-mate Marc Marquez and Gresini’s Alex Marquez from the off.
He ended the race third, 3.4s off the win and almost a second behind the runner-up spot.
Francesco Bagnia blames fuel tank on MotoGP sprint struggles
Bagnaia explained that he struggles for braking performance while using the smaller fuel tank mandated in the rules for sprint races, which “changes the dynamics” of his Ducati.
“There’s a scientific reason why I’m struggling in the sprint,” he said.
“We were trying to understand it and, honestly, the only thing that changes from the long race is the fuel tank - it is small, by the regulations.
“So, it changes a bit the dynamics of the bike and I’m struggling a bit more on the entry.
“But we are working on it. We are trying to solve it. Today we just tried it in a standard way, but next time we will try something different.
“Apart from that, I just decided to go with the hard front tyre for the race tomorrow but I was quite surprised that I finished it before the end of the sprint.
“So, for tomorrow I don’t know. I might have to consider doing something different.
“Apart from that, I’m not satisfied at all, but considering the test, considering yesterday third place is not that bad. It’s like October, same place, so I hope tomorrow is also like October.”
Bagnaia had similar issues in last October’s Thai GP, but managed to win Sunday’s wet grand prix at Buriram.
VR46 rider Franco Morbidelli backed up Bagnaia's claims, noting: "There is some difference, yes. Usually I also feel better with the race fuel tank. We have similar characteristics, and hopefully it’s going to be like this also tomorrow."
Bagnaia added that the problem he has with the fuel tank in sprints is lessened when he is able to lead, but finds himself hitting a wall if he is behind other bikes.
“I did it and I was faster,” he said when asked if he has ever done a sprint simulation on the standard size fuel tank.
“But it’s something that you cannot do for the regulations. We are trying something different, like set-up or adding different things on the bike.
“But it’s a long journey to improve this because it’s already two seasons where the problem is more or less the same.
“It’s true that when I start in front the problem is less, when I’m already leading, because without someone in front I can force the braking.
“But if someone is in front of me, I’ll be for 10 laps, 15 laps, with one second of gap and I can’t close back. It’s quite a problem but we are trying to solve.”
Bagnaia also went in a different direction with tyre choice for the sprint, electing to run the hard front while Marc and Alex Marquez used the soft.
The double world champion says this was done with a view to Sunday’s race, but is unsure what he will use for the grand prix as he suffered excessive wear on the hard.
“My problem with the soft is the braking; I don’t like when the front tyre is moving a lot,” he explained.
“But in this track, there are many corners where you need to put more corner speed and more turning, and the soft helps a bit more.
“But I’m struggling to be fast with the soft like with the hard, so for tomorrow maybe we will change something.
“We will try to solve this problem, but if not I will go with the soft because the hard after 10 laps was already finished.”
Quotes provided by Crash MotoGP Editor Peter McLaren
