Francesco Bagnaia: “We’ll continue on this path” after “huge change” in Hungary

Francesco Bagnaia may have finished 14.8s behind winning team-mate Marc Marquez at Balaton Park, but a radical set-up change allowed the struggling double MotoGP champion to finally discover a “good feeling again”.

Exactly what those changes involved remains unclear, although Bagnaia hinted they were geometry-related: “It's difficult to explain, but we changed by centimetres. So, huge.

“I started to feel a bit better on braking, a bit better on entrance.”

The Hungarian weekend began with TV cameras highlighting Bagnaia’s ongoing issues, with the rear wheel of his Ducati seen floating in the air.

“From the data, it's really clear, because when you are able to see it on the television, imagine on the data,” Bagnaia said. 

“We are trying to find a solution together. Right now it's difficult because the other riders, like Marc, are not having my problems.”

The last two stop-and-go circuits have been a perfect storm for Bagnaia’s weaknesses with the GP25, but this weekend’s Barcelona round is a much more flowing layout.

The Italian also returns having dominated last November’s finale with pole, Sprint and Grand Prix wins.

“About Balaton, if we look at the rankings, it was definitely one of the most challenging weekends of the year,” Bagnaia reflected ahead of this weekend.

“After qualifying, we decided to make some very significant changes on the bike, and I found a good feeling riding again, especially during Sunday’s race.

“We’ll continue on this path, working to confirm the same good feelings on this track as well.”

Bagnaia remains third in the MotoGP World Championship, 52 points behind Alex Marquez, but is now under growing pressure from Marco Bezzecchi.

The Aprilia rider has closed to within 31 points of Bagnaia, putting him within mathematical reach this weekend.