Bagnaia: "Something is wrong with this bike in the wet"

Motegi.- The Ducati rider, winner of four of the last five races and who, since the Dutch Grand Prix at the end of June, has cut 81 points from the World Championship leader, Fabio Quartararo, could only be 12th , and lastly, in Q2 of the Japanese Grand Prix, held this Saturday in rainy conditions, which will force him to start from the fourth row of the starting grid this Sunday (8 in the morning Spanish time).

“I haven’t been able to analyze anything yet, but it seems that something is wrong with this bike,” lamented Pecco, who arrived at the Ducati box at the end of the session very upset, looking unfriendly.

“Last year I was fast in the wet but this year in Indonesia, the only event in the wet, I finished 15th,” he recalled.

“This result is not acceptable, and this morning I was faster than in qualifying, in worse conditions,” added the Italian rider.

Bagnaia was unable to put in any really fast laps during the session, which started with rain but eased.

“I don’t have any feeling with the bike. This year we didn’t have many opportunities to ride in the wet, but we have to find out what happens. I know that my level is much higher in these conditions,” he complained.

Looking ahead to the race, his main rivals, Fabio and Aleix Espargaró, will start 9th and 6th, respectively, so he will have to come back to avoid losing points. 

“The strategy is to push. I will try to overtake as many drivers as I can in the first few laps,” he said, before adding: “My goal is to win. My first goal is not to overtake Fabio, but to win,” he was blunt.

Despite this, the Ducati man knows that his intentions will not be easy to carry out. 

“With this first corner, starting 12th is not ideal. I will try not to make a mistake and make the best start of my life,” settled the boy from Turin.