Pecco Bagnaia complains: "It's like a machine gun"

Another uphill Saturday for Pecco Bagnaia, grappling with a few too many issues on the Ducati GP26. At Balaton Park the Piedmontese rider started from fifth place, but at the first corner he lost positions and contact with the leading group. During the MotoGP Sprint he was also overtaken by Jorge Martin (Aprilia) and Enea Bastianini (KTM Tech3), crossing the finish line in P9.

The only positive note of the Hungarian Saturday was beating his fellow Ducati rider Di Giannantonio. But Pecco Bagnaia’s rough patch continues, especially in light of Marc Marquez’s victory, coming off an injury and still not at peak physical form. At the end of the Sprint, he analyzed what happened on the asphalt of Balaton Park. "The start was good, but I had problems getting into turn 1. Aldeguer defended a bit too much and we both lost positions... It was tough, and it’s also difficult to overtake on this track."

Bagnaia’s biggest problems are at turns 4 and 17, where he brakes very late and hard and loses precious tenths on acceleration. "If you look at the data, I also have traction issues. On Friday the situation was the same and Marc had his problems too," continued the two-time MotoGP champion. "But Marquez made a big step forward in terms of traction, so maybe we have a solution."

This time Pecco’s real problem seems to be the track itself, flagged as not very recommendable already on the eve of the Grand Prix. "I’m having a lot of issues in the tight corners... I can’t wait to go to Brno and Assen." The asphalt at Balaton Park was partially resurfaced in several spots after last month’s Superbike World Championship round. But the work is under fire, with several riders complaining about poor grip at turn 1. Moreover, the asphalt at turn 7 is already deteriorating and shedding small stones as the bikes pass. "When you’re behind someone, it’s like having a machine gun aimed at you because of the stones coming off the asphalt."

The real headline from the MotoGP Sprint in Hungary is Marc Marquez’s return to victory, the only Ducati on the podium. "On these corners Marc is the best," admitted Pecco Bagnaia. "He’s the master on the exit of tight corners. I’m improving, but I’m losing a lot on acceleration. We need to understand what Marc did. Yesterday he had problems and today he made a big step forward in terms of acceleration. Maybe we have the solution in the garage."

If you like the content from our news outlet you can select it as a preferred source by clicking HERE