“From last year, it’s the best Friday we’ve had so far.” : Pecco Bagnaia
The reigning double MotoGP champion, Francesco Bagnaia, teetered on the brink of Qualifying 1 as he exited the factory Ducati garage for his final Friday practice stint at COTA.
However, the Italian surged from outside the top ten to 4th on his second-to-last lap of the session, asserting later that the day had been more promising than it appeared from the outside.
“Honestly, I feel good. I believe it’s the best Friday so far, even compared to last year, so I’m content,” expressed Bagnaia, seeking redemption this weekend after losing a substantial lead one year ago.
“My feeling was excellent, and we executed a solid session. We opted for a different strategy than the others, focusing on more laps with the medium rear.
“It paid off, and I’m pleased. However, we also noticed the strong potential of the soft tire, so tomorrow we’ll put in more laps with it to decide on the race tire.”
Reflecting on the 0.4s gap to Jorge Martin of Pramac Ducati and Maverick Vinales of Aprilia at the top of Friday’s timesheets, Bagnaia remarked:
“Jorge and Maverick both set impressive lap times, but let’s wait and see. Tomorrow will present different conditions…”
Bagnaia has slipped to fourth in the world championship standings after his clash with Marc Marquez last time out in Portimao.
Teammate Enea Bastianini secured the eighth quickest time.
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