RiderTua.com – Qualifying did not go well for Pecco Bagnaia so he only finished 7th on the grid. The course of the sprint race on Saturday afternoon in Jerez also did not satisfy him at all. Although the factory Ducati rider started well from the third row of the grid in the 12-lap race, Pecco’s momentum as he surged to the front quickly ended.
In a three-way battle for 4th place, Pecco found himself behind Marco Bezzecchi at the start of the third lap. While his colleague on VR46 was able to avoid a crash, Bagnaia fell into the gravel. His Desmosedici GP24 was so badly damaged that he could not continue racing.
Pecco Bagnaia: Bumps Often Happen in Sprints But This Time It’s Crazy!
After the race, Francesco Bagnaia commented on the crash during the duel against Bezzecchi. “The racing commission classified the crash as a normal racing incident. I don’t think we need to try to overtake two racers at the curb,” said the rider from Turin, Italy.
Bagnaia pointed at Bezzecchi, who had rounded the first corner in a very tight radius at the end of the straight. Valentino Rossi’s student added that that was how it was. And bumps often occur, situations like that often occur, especially in sprints. And things were a bit crazy today, especially in the first two laps.
Regarding starting in 7th position on the grid, teammate Enea Bastianini commented, “It was not an ideal situation. In the second practice session on Friday on a dry track, the overall sensation of the motorbike was extraordinary. But when entering a special lap in qualifying in the conditions were so different, I couldn’t find the grip I needed.”
Recently Pecco has been experimenting with forks of different lengths. “It’s true that we raced with a longer fork during the tests and the start of the season. Since Austin we have used the shorter version. This was also used at Jerez. Shorter doesn’t always mean worse,” he concluded which made all the journalists laugh.
Even though he failed to score points in the sprint at Jerez, Pecco still remains in 5th place in the standings with 50 points.
