Francesco Bagnaia was the fastest on Friday at the Spanish MotoGP Grand Prix. The Ducati rider set a new lap record at the Jerez circuit during the afternoon practice, beating Maverick Viñales (Aprilia) by 0.100s.
The 2022 and 2023 champion revealed that he had a different approach on this first day of the Spanish round, which proved to be useful as he had good feelings at this time:
– We used a different strategy compared to a normal Friday. We used this Friday as a test and it was very useful. We tested more things than usual and I am very happy. We didn’t have any vibrations, but usually the vibrations come on Saturday for the Sprint race and for that reason I am keeping my feet on the ground. But at the moment my feeling has improved on the braking entry, it is much better, less movement, so I am very happy.
Although not specifically mentioning what he tested on the bike during the first free practice, Bagnaia said it was something significant: ‘It was something big on the bike. I needed something big‘.
The Italian later added: ‘It was just work to have a better feeling. When you have a better feeling, then you can do something that helps you be in a better position coming out of the corners and it can help‘.
Asked if he enjoys it when the bike is responding so well, Bagnaia confirmed: ‘Very much. It’s less physical, it’s easier to ride, it’s easier to do everything, you can attack and feel like everything is set up well. This morning we started more or less with the same bike as in Austin and improved in every session, trying out different things. Every session got better and it was easier to ride and attack. When you don’t feel good on the bike, you start to feel like there’s too much sliding on entry, the bike starts to go wide, so everything is harder. This situation is much easier‘.