Pecco Bagnaia explains Portugal MotoGP deficit to Nicolo Bulega in FP1
Pecco Bagnaia explains his sluggish start to the Portuguese MotoGP weekend
Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia has explained why he fell behind stand-in team-mate Nicolo Bulega in opening practice for the MotoGP Portuguese Grand Prix.
With Marc Marquez sidelined for the rest of the season due to a complicated arm injury, Ducati has brought in World Superbike star Nicolo Bulega to replace him for the final two rounds.
While Bulega’s MotoGP mileage was slender coming into the Portugal weekend, he turned heads in opening practice when he finished 14th and over 0.2s clear of Pecco Bagnaia.
In the afternoon, Bagnaia improved his speed greatly, with the double world champion ending the day in second behind pacesetter Alex Marquez, while Bulega was 17th.
Bagnaia has now explained that his struggles in FP1 were down to the wrong choice in front tyre, which caused him issues under braking.
“This morning we made the wrong choice of front tyre for entry, and we were struggling a bit because I couldn't get any grip and tended to go too wide,” he said.
“Especially when entering the track with the brakes, I was never able to slow it down properly and let it go.
“This afternoon, with the soft tyre on the front straight away, we didn't do a time attack, but rather a run with the soft/soft tyres and a full tank to try to get some feedback from the bike and the tyres.
“And it went better straight away; I felt good, and we managed to do a good job.
“Even with the hard tyre on the front, I felt pretty good, even though the time was short. In the end, the time attack went well: the first one, not so much because there were still a few drops [of rain] and I wasn't able to do a great job, while the second one went quite well without having to push too hard.
“So the situation is positive right now, and we need to keep going like this.”
Though pleased with his start to the weekend, he admits he is in a battle for second right now.
“At the moment, Alex Marquez is superior; he’s faster,” he said.
“We’re in a group that ranges from second to sixth, for now.”
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