MotoGP: Francesco Bagnaia confident of contending for 'top position' at Spanish GP, admits 'we've been on the defensive'
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Updated 25/04/2024 at 19:42 GMT
Francesco Bagnaia is confident he can "contend again for the top positions" this weekend at the Spanish MotoGP, after a poor start to retaining his title. The Italian can join Mick Doohan, Valentino Rossi and Marc Marquez as the only riders to win three consecutive MotoGP/500cc championships over the past three decades. But the Ducati rider's poor start to the year has him on the back foot.
Francesco Bagnaia of Italy and Ducati Lenovo Team looks on during the press conference pre-event during the MotoGP Of Spain - Previews on April 25, 2024 in Jerez de la Frontera, Spain.
Image credit: Eurosport
Francesco Bagnaia is confident he can "contend again for the top positions" this weekend at the Spanish MotoGP, after a performance in Austin that was his worst result in over a year.
Bagnaia sits fifth in the championship table and will need to rectify his Americas GP performance quickly if he harbours ambitions of becoming just the fourth rider to win three consecutive MotoGP championships.
After opening the season with a win in Qatar, the Ducati rider was unable to find much success in the Portuguese and Americas GPs, crashing in the former and finishing fifth in the latter. The 27-year-old is undoubtedly on the back foot.
Speaking at a press conference ahead of this weekend’s GP, the 2022 and 2023 champion was optimistic he can get back on course.
“First of all, I’m always happy to race here, it’s one of my favourite race weekends for the crowd, for the track, for the weather – it looks that will not be so good. But in any case, I’m always happy to be here. I think that we can be competitive like in the past two years," he said.
“Right now we are facing some problems that are slowing us down a bit. But I’m quite sure, considering the amount of data and laps we saw after Austin, that we can do a step in front.”
The Italian is a double Jerez MotoGP winner, claiming victories in 2022 and 2023, and has hailed it as “one of the greatest to race on."
“Maybe because is one of the first tracks where I raced in the past, when I arrived in the Spanish championship. It was always a dream track I was wanting to be when I was young," he said.
“So it's one of my favourites for that, and also because it has some really huge braking as well as fast corners.
“In the last two Grands Prix, we’ve been on the defensive. Jerez presents a challenge different from the tracks we’ve raced so far, so working diligently in every session to understand how the GP24 behaves on this circuit is essential.
“Over the past two years, we’ve got two fantastic wins here in Spain, and I’m going to contend again for the top positions this weekend. With plenty of fast riders on the grid, it won’t be easy, but we’re determined and prepared to give it our all.”
Bastianini embracing Jerez challenge
Ducati Lenovo team-mate Enea Bastianini, who sits second in the championship standings, is equally optimistic on tackling Jerez and ending the weekend on the podium.
“I’m happy to be back racing at Jerez,” Bastianini said. “It’s a gorgeous track where I enjoy riding a lot.
“Last year, I attempted to return here after my shoulder injury, but I wasn’t ready and had to retire before the two races. This year, we’re racing in Spain on the back of two podiums, and although Jerez is a very different track from Austin, we have all the conditions in place for another successful weekend.”
The Spanish GP kicks off on Friday with Practice 1 and Practice 2 on Saturday before qualifying, with coverage of the MotoGP race kicking off on 12:15pm on Sunday on TNT Sports 2 and discovery+.
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