#USGP: Bagnaia second place in the sprint
ANOTHER RACE WEEKEND FULL OF TWISTS AND TURNS. PECCO BAGNAIA SECURES A STRONG SECOND PLACE IN THE SPRINT. IVAN ORTOLA NARROWLY MISSES OUT ON THE POINTS.
Take a mix of ultra-fast straights, tight hairpins and wide sweeping corners. Entrust them to Hermann Tilke, the renowned German architect famous for designing modern Formula 1 circuits, giving him complete freedom. Let it all simmer slowly, and before long you will have a demanding track to serve to the fastest riders on Earth: a circuit defined by significant elevation changes and a wide variety of corners. The steep climb leading up to Turn 1, followed by a sharp left-hand hairpin, is particularly iconic and often the stage for daring overtakes and spectacular crashes.
On this track, our Suomy riders Pecco Bagnaia in MotoGP and Iván Ortolá in Moto2 competed in the third round of the MotoGP World Championship.
SPRINT RACE
Francesco Bagnaia was the standout protagonist of the Sprint Race, coming close to a victory that seemed firmly within his grasp until the final metres. Our rider led with authority for most of the 10 laps on the Texan circuit, showing a strong and consistent pace, before being overtaken in the closing stages by Jorge Martin. Bagnaia got off to a flawless start, immediately taking the lead and setting a high pace right from the opening laps. Behind him, the race quickly came alive, with several unexpected twists that reshuffled the group and opened up new scenarios. Lap after lap, Pecco continued to build his race at the front, managing to extend his advantage to over one second over his pursuers. With a clean and precise riding style, the Ducati champion looked in full control all the way to the chequered flag. In the final laps, however, Jorge Martin increased his pace and rapidly closed the gap. The decisive attack came on the last lap: a determined move that forced Bagnaia to pick the bike up, preventing him from responding immediately. Our Suomy rider therefore finished the Sprint in second place, after having long been on the verge of victory. Bagnaia’s performance in the first race of the American weekend seemed to offer encouraging signs also ahead of the full-length Grand Prix.
RACE
Pecco’s front wheel was there, pointing down the straight from the front row of the grid, after a crazy Sprint that had only narrowly kept our rider and his Ducati from the top step of the podium. Unfortunately, however, the start of Sunday’s race was not favourable for Pecco, who got away rather poorly and found himself battling for fifth position from the very first laps. The race proved demanding for our Pecco who, as he would later explain after the finish, was clearly struggling due to a lack of rear grip. As if that weren’t enough, Francesco’s effort was not only focused on keeping his rivals behind, but also on trying to slow the bike down and make it turn. Lap after lap, Pecco slipped back (fortunately only in a figurative sense) several positions, eventually finishing just on the edge of the points, in tenth place.
“I’m happy with the podium, even though it hurts a little to have missed out on the win. I gave it my all, maybe a bit too much in the early laps, but I think it would have been difficult to achieve a better result with the level of grip we had at the end of the race. I tried to push hard in the first half of the last lap so I could defend myself, but I wasn’t expecting an overtaking attempt at Turn 12. Up to this point we’ve worked very well: we made a step forward in time attack, which had been an issue so far, and the good qualifying allowed us to stay up front and push the way we know how.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Sprint Race 2°
“Already in this morning’s warm-up I didn’t have the same feeling and I struggled to enter the corners with the same speed as the previous days. At the start of the race I didn’t feel completely comfortable: there was less rear grip, but I tried to manage it. I saw that Diggia was trying to get back to the front group and I stayed in his slipstream, but then the grip clearly got worse. With four laps to go I tried to push a bit more to defend myself from Marc (Márquez) and Enea (Bastianini), but the last two laps were a nightmare: I was risking a crash at every right-hand corner. Unfortunately, we can’t stop and turn the bike the way we would like, and we need to keep working on these areas.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – Race 10°
MOTO 2
An incredible start to the Moto2 race. Right after the lights went out, two riders crashed at Turn 1. But the worst happened at Turn 11, where seven riders went down! The red flag was inevitable, followed by a restart. The race was shortened to 10 laps. Iván Ortolá was one of the protagonists of this intense and hard-fought race. Our rider faced a challenging Sunday, constantly staying in the group battling for the points despite starting from the second-to-last row, 18th on the grid, but without being able to move up enough to fight for a podium finish. Iván once again showed great determination and strong pace throughout the race. Ortolá carefully managed the most hectic phases, maintaining a competitive rhythm and pushing until the very end in an effort to reach the key positions, though without being able to realistically aim for the podium. Despite his great effort and a solid performance, our rider finished in 11th place. A result that understandably leaves a slight bitter taste, but one that confirms Ortola’s competitiveness on one of the most technical and demanding tracks on the calendar.
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #SuomyCrew during the weekend in US.