A weekend full of twists and turns, crashes, restarts, and unexpected events — but Francesco Bagnaia finishes third, and Ivan Ortolà delivers an amazing race, just missing out on the podium!
A well-deserved third place for our Pecco Bagnaia, who, after being involved in a crash that caused the main race to be stopped, restarted and still managed to climb onto the podium.
In Moto2, Ivàn Ortolà, who started from the second row, had an outstanding race. Unfortunately, tyre wear towards the end meant he missed out on the podium by a whisker.
SPRINT RACE
The weekend didn’t start under the best circumstances for our Suomy rider Francesco Bagnaia, due to a series of changes made to the bike. Changes that did not bring the expected results and actually made things harder for the rider from Piedmont, leaving him in 12th place in practice.
In Q1, however, Francesco managed to set the third fastest time, and then finished 13th in Q2. Starting from the fifth row on the grid was definitely a disadvantage, especially in a short race.
However, Francesco once again proved that he can make up for the technical gap with his riding skills and determination, managing to recover positions lap after lap and finish with an excellent sixth place.
RACE
A race full of suspense, but also moments of concern, as it was stopped twice by red flags and was marked by long moments of worry. Many people, riders included, questioned whether it made sense to restart twice as if nothing had happened, putting aside anxiety, fear and concern.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, as the old circus tradition always teaches us, “the show must go on”… and that’s exactly what happened. The first stoppage was announced on lap 12, while the second came just a few minutes after the restart. Pecco was also involved in the crash, but despite everything, he got back on the bike and showed that he still has a huge hunger for victory and great courage. Bagnaia, who was blamelessly involved in the accident, restarted and quickly climbed back up to fifth position after the restart, then found himself in third place by the end of the first lap. After a good initial phase, Pecco began to feel the effects of the crash, but still finished fourth in this 12-lap race. After the race, he was eventually promoted to third place. At the end of the sixth Grand Prix of the season, Francesco Bagnaia is eighth in the standings with 63 points.
“We took another small step forward, and that’s important. It wasn’t easy because tyre wear is very high on this track, but we managed to reach the end of the Sprint with a good pace. We are continuing to give it our all, knowing that our potential is higher than this.
The constant this weekend so far is that with used tyres I can still be quite fast. The problem is at the start of the race: I can’t push hard in the first laps because I’m missing that initial drive phase through three corners. We’re continuing to work on this aspect, we’ve already made some improvements and we have to keep going in this direction.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Sprint Race 6°
“Right now I’m in pain and my head is spinning a bit. I took a big hit, but it’s nothing compared to what happened to others. In the end, we were lucky on what was a really intense day.
In my case, when I felt the contact, I thought it was over, then I crashed and the impact with the gravel was really hard. I didn’t imagine that another rider, Johann (Zarco), was still attached to the bike, and it was traumatic.
At the restart, I didn’t expect much because we got on a bike I had practically never ridden and with used tyres. I still got a good start, but after three laps my head started spinning and I went into survival mode.
Obviously I’m happy with the podium, even though it’s not the way we want it or feel we deserve it, especially for the team who are really giving their all. We just have to keep working.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Race 3°
MOTO 2
There was something in the air right from qualifying. Ivan Ortolà made it clear from the start that this was going to be his weekend and that he would be a protagonist in the race. In Q1, he was already extremely fast, just missing out on the best time. In Q2, our Ivan also set an excellent lap time, earning first place on the second row of the starting grid.The race was a demonstration of his high sporting value, his excellent physical condition and riding technique. In fact, despite some technical difficulties related to a lack of grip, he managed to finish the race in a strong fourth place, just missing out on the podium.
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #SuomyCrew during the weekend in Spaign.
