"Too difficult to think about continuing" - Pecco Bagnaia explains Assen MotoGP retirement
Pecco Bagnaia says worsening braking problems forced him to retire from the Assen MotoGP after battling his way up to fourth.
Pecco Bagnaia's Assen MotoGP weekend ended in disappointment when he retired from fourth place with 10 laps remaining.
The Italian had just emerged on top of a three-way battle for fourth with Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez and KTM's Pedro Acosta when he was forced out by a braking issue.
“Surely I wasn't expecting to finish the weekend with a retirement,” Bagnaia said.
“After the Sprint, I had a very positive feeling ahead of the full-distance race as I knew we could be competitive.
“My start wasn't too bad; I tried to stay in touch with the leaders from the get-go and recover some positions while battling within the group.
“But I wasn't riding the way I wanted: I was struggling to slow the bike down and get it stopped.
“Just after the halfway point, the situation became really difficult to manage - too difficult to think about continuing the race.
“I'm sorry to have finished the weekend this way, especially here at Assen.”
Bagnaia’s exit came just a few laps after Acosta also retired, due to a lack of feeling in his right hand.
Team-mate Marc Marquez went on to finish seventh, after receiving a one-place penalty.
Bagnaia leaves the Netherlands 63 points behind new championship leader Jorge Martin.
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