Francesco Bagnaia ‘happy but not 100% happy’ after second place in Qatar and increasing lead over Jorge Martin
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ByEurosport
Published 20/11/2023 at 10:04 GMT
The penultimate weekend of the MotoGP season in Qatar proved to be a fascinating affair with plenty of twists and turns. In the end, it was defending world champion Francesco Bagnaia who came out on top in the title fight, even if he failed to win both the sprint and the race. The Italian was left not completely satisfied with his performance, even though he increased his lead over Jorge Martin.
DOHA, QATAR - NOVEMBER 19: Francesco Bagnaia of Italy and Ducati Lenovo Team prepares to start on the grid during the MotoGP race during the MotoGP of Qatar - Race at Losail Circuit on November 19, 2023 in Doha, Qatar. (Photo by Mirco Lazzari gp/Getty Ima
Image credit: Getty Images
Francesco Bagnaia was left with mixed emotions after finishing second in the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, having led for the majority of the race.
Championship-leader Bagnaia was overtaken by fellow Ducati rider Fabio Di Giannantonio with four laps to go, but didn’t suffer in the title battle with rival Jorge Martin ending up down in 10th after issues in the race.
Despite increasing his lead over Martin to 21 points, Bagnaia was still not fully happy with the way he rode. However, he did go on to say that Di Giannantonio thoroughly deserved the win and rode very well.
“Happy but not happy at 100%," said Bagnaia. "I did what I was expecting from myself. Yesterday, I was expecting this pace but I wasn’t able to do it.
“Today, everything went perfect and from the start I tried to push. I did my ideal race and it was nice to be back leading and pushing.
“It was a long time since I did my pace so I was very happy. Happy for the pace we showed, but I’m not happy for the mistake that I already did in the past.
“In 2021, I did the same with Johann Zarco. I’m not happy about that because usually you learn from your mistakes.
“I was not expecting this type of sucking from the slipstream. Di Gia was fantastic all weekend and his pace was faster than mine.”
The title fight will now go down to the wire with the final round of the season next weekend in Valencia live on TNT Sports and discovery+.
Bagnaia is in a strong position but he will be wary of making any mistakes that open the door for Martin to steal in and take the title.
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