Francesco Bagnaia was pleased together with his time assault and race tempo throughout Friday follow for the Spanish MotoGP – however admits he’s nonetheless looking for front-end enhancements forward of Saturday’s qualifying and Dash race.
Ducati’s double world champion completed second to Gresini’s Alex Marquez on the finish of a frantic afternoon hour, which means he outpaced team-mate and title chief Marc Marquez (fourth).
“Blissful for the end result,” Bagnaia mentioned, “as a result of I used to be aggressive with new medium tyres, new gentle, even used tyres.
“However I don’t really feel very snug on nook entry with the brake,” he mentioned. “I nonetheless really feel that the rear is pushing a bit the entrance, and it isn’t one thing I like, so I would like to unravel it earlier than the Dash race.
“In corners like Flip 5 and Flip 9 the place I used to be tremendous sturdy final yr, I’m struggling extra this weekend,” he added. “So tomorrow morning we’ll attempt one thing to do one other step.”
That can be in ultimate follow, after which Bagnaia will search an error-free qualifying.
“I simply hope I don’t make the identical mistake I did in Qatar qualifying,” he mentioned. “I believe the potential is there to battle for the highest three, to battle for the win. However we have to do one other little step tomorrow.”
After battling the smaller gas tank in a number of Sprints this yr, together with Qatar, the Italian confirmed he tried some modifications on Friday.
“We tried one thing small this morning and it wasn’t dangerous. Within the Dash possibly we’ll add it to the bike,” he mentioned. “However the issue is when there’s loads of slipstream – that’s once I really feel worse.”
Requested who he sees as the principle threats heading into Saturday, Bagnaia was fast to level to a well-recognized rival.
“Marc on this second is like within the final races – he’s the strongest,” he mentioned.
“Alex [Marquez] is risking rather a lot and dedicated two errors however was very sturdy on the time assault. Fabio [Quartararo] can be very aggressive.
“However proper now, I’d say Marc is the person to beat.”
Bagnaia, who beat then Gresini rider Marc Marquez in an exhilarating duel a yr in the past, can be chasing a fourth Spanish MotoGP victory in a row on Sunday.
