No chance of overtaking Martin

After a superior performance in qualifying, Francesco Bagnaia was the clear favorite for the MotoGP sprint in Misano. But his dream of victory was already effective after just a few meters. The Italian is frustrated because he had no chance of overtaking his rival Jorge Martin after his rocket start.

Bad start decides: No overtaking possible in Misano

“The first part [des Starts, Anm. d. Red.] was good, but then I didn’t get the right moment for the clutch and it slipped badly. As soon as that happened, I knew someone was going to overtake me. “It was Jorge, he got a very good start,” Bagnaia said, recalling the decisive moment of the sprint. From then on, it was all over: “I have everything, but when you have the same or similar pace, even if you are faster, it is very difficult to overcome.

The reason for this is one of the major problems of the modern premier class: “In today’s MotoGP, it’s a bit of a shame that you can’t close the gap as much as you want because the front tire gets too hot. Then the pressure gets too high and it becomes dangerous. I tried everything, but I had to give up in the last few laps. The Ducati rider also revealed how quickly this problem arose: “After just three laps, the front was over the limit. It blocked too much and had no grip.”

However, ‘Pecco’ has no doubts about his basic performance in Misano: “I think my pace was very good, a little faster than Jorge. But at some points on the track I got too close and then lost time again.” It was never enough to attack the world championship leader. “You can only do it if the other rider makes a mistake or is much slower,” sighed Bagnaia. Other riders have also experienced this problem. Marc Marquez, for example, only managed to get past the KTM riders thanks to a mistake by Jack Miller.

Hope for the Grand Prix, but also more pain for Bagnaia?

For the Grand Prix on Sunday, it is also important to get the start better. But even in the event of another setback in Turn 1, Bagnaia does not see the situation as hopeless as he experienced on Saturday: “Tomorrow it will be different because we will have the medium tyre at the back. The soft tyre is very good, but it also causes a lot of wobbling. With the medium there are more opportunities to overtake, there is more room to maneuver.

However, the Italian’s body also has to cooperate. He is still feeling the effects of the collision with Alex Marquez a week ago in Aragon. In the sprint, this was not a problem at first: “I did feel a bit of pain while riding, but it didn’t affect my pace.” In the Grand Prix, however, the distance is twice as long. Bagnaia is therefore warned: “27 laps is a lot. Tomorrow I might have to take something stronger than what I took today.” Grit your teeth and start better is the motto if the defending champion does not want to lose ground again in the title fight. On Saturday in Misano, the gap to Jorge Martin grew to 26 points.