A third-place finish for Francesco Bagnaia “felt like a victory” in Aragon after failing to secure any points from the last two MotoGP race weekends.
Following a difficult May where he only earned four points in the Silverstone Sprint race, he secured his first podium finish since the Spanish Grand Prix in Jerez.
Bagnaia’s struggling performances on the GP25 continued after securing 12th place in the Aragon Sprint, before revealing an overnight modification that made a significant difference.
“Regardless of the result, for me, the drive to the finish felt like a victory,” Bagnaia stated to SpeedWeek.
“Third place is fantastic for me and my team. You always come together through situations like this, and I’m happy that I was able to have more confidence today.
“One thing we changed was the braking system. The technicians modified the brake discs so that we could significantly reduce lockup under full deceleration, which increased confidence when cornering.
“We just changed the disc of the bike, and it’s something that we never did in the past, and it’s something that we were not thinking about because normally it’s always the same,” he said in the post-race press conference.
“It was a huge step and it helped me to be able to brake less and reduce the speed more.
“Until yesterday I was the one with more pressure on the brake and less deceleration, so it was a bit strange and this morning it was better already with changing just this.”
He added: “We just decided to upgrade the disc, to just move to a bigger one, and I feel a bit better.”
Bagnaia hoping Monday test will find ‘the complete solution’ to his problems
The Torinese rider now turns his attention to Monday’s MotoGP test, where he hopes to find “the complete solution” to his problems.
In particular, Bagnaia stated that the step forward came at a crucial time, just before the next round at Mugello — one of his strongest tracks.
“Then there’s the test on Monday. Here we can do more important preparatory work, push things forward, and further increase my confidence.
“What we saw today was an important step, but not yet the complete solution.
“I’m so happy – the next races are at Mugello. I’ve always been particularly competitive there, and I want to aim for another win here with the right feeling.
“That would be very important and a further boost for me and my team.”
READ MORE – Marc Marquez dominates in lights-to-flag Aragon MotoGP victory
So, what’s that total nonsense about that mass of numbers masquerading as “Riders’s standings” chart there?
Do you really need your casual readers to tell you who is leading the ch’ship?