Pecco Bagnaia hits the second time trial on Friday of free practice at the Twin Ring of Motegi: the Ducati rider has the chance to overtake in the standings.
The first day of free practice at Motegi ends with the 2nd time trial for Pecco Bagnaia, mortgaging the direct jump to Q2 with forecasts that predict rain. In wet conditions it will be difficult to improve FP1 times, but with the weather it is impossible to predict. 10 points that divide him in the standings from Fabio Quartararo, in the Japanese weekend the first chance to overtake.
In the early stages of the only Friday practice session Pecco Bagnaia had some problems with the soft front tire, in the pits they worked on the balance of the Desmosedici GP22 and mounted the hard on the front which guaranteed a better feeling. Furthermore, a small electronics problem forced him to take the second bike: “But in the last two heats the feeling was excellent and the pace was good too: we are almost ready in case of dry weather“.
Pecco Bagnaia awaits the rain
Forecasts predict rain for Saturday, dry for Sunday race. It was important to find the right setting on day 1 because it could be the only useful session to run with slicks before Sunday. And to hit the top 10 that guarantees access to Q2. The last release at Twin Ring by Motegi for Pecco Bagnaia it dated back to 2019, but then the Desmosedici was completely different, especially aerodynamically and did not have the height devices currently available and which are of great help here.
The Japanese layout promises to be favorable for the drivers of the Ducati, with sudden braking that enhance the driving style of the Turinese. “When accelerating, however, it is difficult to get all that power on the track due to the wheelie. So it’s harder to make a difference here“, Bagnaia analyzed. “I’m just trying to be competitive and pass my feedback to the team“.
The challenge with Fabio Quartararo will not be easy at all, especially in wet conditions, where the Yamaha champion has certainly taken a step forward, as demonstrated in Indonesia. The team manager Davide Tardozzi heralds a very close battle: “Fabio is certainly a very fast rider and he proved it – Davide Tardozzi told Sky Sport MotoGP -. Although there is a nice straight here, he has always had some good races, last year he finished 2nd behind Marc Marquez. To beat him we will have to do an extraordinary race and we expect Pecco to do it “.
