Relieved Francesco Bagnaia “happy, ready to fight” after Friday scare
Francesco Bagnaia came close to missing direct Qualifying 2 access but insists “I feel ready to fight”
Francesco Bagnaia narrowly held on to a direct Qualifying 2 spot for the Argentine MotoGP, but not without a scare.
A late crash at Turn 2 with just minutes remaining in Friday practice left the Ducati Lenovo rider watching from the sidelines as his rivals improved their times.
Bagnaia, who had been sixth before the fall, was eventually pushed down to tenth, clinching the final automatic Q2 spot by the narrowest of margins.
Much to his relief, he escaped unscathed and remained optimistic despite finishing 16th and 10th in the two track sessions.
“A lot!” Bagnaia told MotoGP.com, when asked if he felt relieved after the dramatic conclusion to Friday practice.
“I was already seeing myself out of Q2. It could have been a shame.
“But I’m happy. Happy because my feeling was much better this afternoon.
“We did a good step in terms of setup of the bike, and it helped me a lot.
“Happy because finally I feel much better on braking and entering [the corners]. And tomorrow we will try to do another step.”
Third in Thailand, Bagnaia is under pressure to respond after new Ducati Lenovo team-mate Marc Marquez dominated the Buriram season opener with a perfect double of Sprint and Grand Prix wins.
Marquez then picked up where he left off by leading both Friday sessions in Argentina.
But with grip levels rapidly improving at the dusty Termas de Rio Hondo circuit, Bagnaia emphasised that rediscovering confidence on the brakes was essential for his chances.
“The grip changed also during the session because in the last part it was much better,” he explained. “I think it will be like this all weekend.
“Tomorrow in the Sprint race we will do the best lap in the last laps and also in the [Sunday] race. So the important thing is that I have a good feeling back on braking. This was my main target.”
Asked if he feels ready to battle the Marquez brothers - first and second in Thailand and separated only by Fabio di Giannantonio on Friday - Bagnaia replied:
“I feel ready to fight. Who it will be, will be. But I feel ready to fight.”
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
