Another exciting weekend! Pecco Bagnaia rode a superb race and took third place in the race! Ivàn Ortolà, meanwhile, crashed while trying to climb the standings…
The excitement of the Mugello podium was still palpable in the Ducati garage set up on the Hungarian track, which joined the MotoGP calendar last year. A few days after his second consecutive podium, right in front of the Italian fans, our Pecco Bagnaia returned to work, focused on closing the gap to the leaders and returning to prominence not only in the race but also in the championship standings.
Bagnaia returned to the top ten at the end of FP1: his time attack, however, was hindered by a mistake at Turn 16, which compromised his chances of qualifying directly for Q2. In any case, he finished fifth on the starting grid. However, he crossed the checkered flag in the Sprint race only in ninth place, while the race itself told a completely different story, and our Suomy Rider was able to lift the trophy for third place.
Francesco Bagnaia #63 Ducati Lenovo Team
“The podium at Mugello gave me a great boost: we need to start from here. We’ve made some steps forward, especially on Sunday for the race, and we need to continue working hard to close the gap. Last year on this track, I struggled a lot in both races, even gaining confidence and pace with the new track. We arrive here after two overall good races, and we need to reconfirm all the feelings we’ve had.”
SPRINT RACE
The fast races he’s had so far have certainly not been suited to our Pecco. This is due to the bike, the tires, the setup, in short, the entire package offered to our Pecco and the feeling he’s managed to develop with it. There were a few rare exceptions, like at Le Mans, Jerez, and in America. Here too, on the Hungarian circuit, Francesco finished the race almost on the edge of the points zone, despite starting from fifth on the grid, the second row of the grid. Our driver, also due to the fact that he got stuck on the outside of Turn One immediately after the start, was unable to move up and finished ninth.
RACE
The start of Sunday’s race at Balaton Park was full of twists, sighs, and scares. The first corner saw a group crash, but fortunately, our Pecco Bagnaia was very fortunate in his misfortune. When the lights went out, his start wasn’t one to be remembered or talked about for a few weeks. He got off to a poor start, but this small debacle allowed him to avoid being caught up in the group crash at the first right-hander. Bagnaia, having thus avoided the major collision, climbed to third place on the first lap, managing the situation well and holding steady in that position without being caught by the opponents behind him, but also without being able to imagine catching the top two ahead of him. He then managed the race with experience and intelligence, securing a third-place finish in a row and bringing home important points for the overall standings.
At the end of the eighth Grand Prix of the season, Francesco Bagnaia is seventh, nine points behind his teammate.
“We had the pace to be further ahead, but it’s a shame about the start. The conditions today were unusual: if you find yourself behind, it’s difficult to overtake. I’m braking very hard, but on the exit, when I’m trying to find speed, the rear of my bike goes off and I end up losing a lot of ground. Today, Marc made a step forward in terms of grip, and I hope we can do the same for tomorrow’s race. Fortunately, we did well in qualifying, especially getting through Q1: a fifth place, given the characteristics of the circuit and my riding style, is a very good result. The goal now is to finish top five in the race as well.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Sprint Race 9°
“The first goal today was to get a better start than yesterday: fortunately, there was a bit of spinning when I first released the clutch, otherwise I probably would have been involved in the crash on Turn 1 as well. I was able to immediately pass Moreira and Marini and then tried to follow Pedro (Acosta), but unfortunately I wasn’t able to lap at their times because I continued to struggle with grip. When they started pushing harder, I focused mainly on managing my advantage over my pursuers. The podium is a good result, especially after the difficult start to the weekend, because these are important points. We need to continue working on grip and gear shift stability for the next races.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Race 3°
MOTO 2
The Hungarian weekend for our Ivan Ortolà will definitely be remembered forever. To be fair, free practice hadn’t gone so badly, with points-scoring times. But timed practice proved to be a trap for our driver, who couldn’t climb higher than eighteenth on the grid, relegating him to the last spot on the penultimate row.
The race went even worse because Ivan crashed, hitting another driver. Fortunately, neither driver suffered any serious injuries. Too bad… all that’s left is to get ready to cheer for the Czech Republic race on June 19th.
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #SuomyCrew during the weekend in Hungary.
