Francesco Bagnaia was unable to turn his pole position into a victory in the MotoGP Thai GP Sprint race, finishing third, right behind his title rival, Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac/Ducati).
The Ducati rider admitted that his sensations worsened during the Sprint: ‘I was struggling a lot to be competitive on braking. My fastest sectors over the weekend were Sector 1 and Sector 3, and today I was losing there. So, we have to analyze in the box. Luckly, we only lost two points, and tomorrow we just have to try to close this gap’.
Though Martín gained more ground in the championship standings, Bagnaia prefers to focus only on his own performance: ‘It’s true that Jorge can finish second in all the races and still be champion, but I’m quite sure that he will not finish second in all the races – he might win, finish fifth, or crash. We have to be more focused on our results and try to be more perfect, because today I thought I was more competitive, and then in the race I was struggling’.
When asked about what he aims to improve for the main race, the 2022 and 2023 champion replied: ‘I would just like to have the same feeling as in the morning in Sector 1 and Sector 3, that is good enough to have a better pace. Because today, entering turn 1, turn 3, turn 8, I was struggling a lot on braking and entry. So, for tomorrow we have to try and be back on my feeling’.