Francesco Bagnaia says it was “lucky” to do the first part of qualifying for the Dutch MotoGP Grand Prix as he saw a significant improvement in his Ducati.
Bagnaia was one of the high profile names who couldn’t make it straight into Q2 from FP3 on Saturday morning, forcing him into a close fight to escape Q1.
The Ducati rider successfully navigated out of the session and into the pole shootout segment, where he managed to pull a 1: 32.116 minutes out of his Ducati and put pole man Maverick Vinales and the front row behind the factory Yamahas Fabio Quartararo to complete third.
The fast and flowing Assen circuit has never been favored by the Ducati, with their only win in 2008.
Bagnaia admits the troubles he faced prior to qualifying were unexpected, but Q1 saw an improvement in corner entry in the fast corners of the track, which helped him catapult to third place in Q2 .
“We didn’t expect such fights this weekend,” said Bagnaia.
“Our bike is very difficult to handle in the fast corners because it wobbles a lot and it is very difficult to enter fast corners.
“But we did a reset this morning and I was trying to do something different on the bike and from this morning until Q2 I made some improvements to the driving and step by step and we were closer.
“In FP4 my pace wasn’t that bad, but if you look at the Yamaha’s pace, it’s five tenths, six tenths slower, so we have to take another step tomorrow.
“I know my team is working to find something and I was lucky enough to do Q1 today because I was lucky enough to find something in Q1 that helped me in Q2.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati team
Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images
“So for the first time I think that was good – firstly because I passed Q1 and secondly because I found something in the fast corners that helps me.”
After a strong run of three podium places in the first five races, Bagnaia’s form has waned since falling from the lead in Italy – with the Italian in seventh place in Barcelona and fifth in Germany based on average qualifying performance.
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Bagnaia is confident he will have a strong result at Assen on Sunday but admits his quest for a first win is likely to continue as the Yamahas are one step ahead at race pace.
“Every time we are missing something because at the Sachsenring I had the pace to fight for the podium or to fight for victory, but started from P10 and then my rear tire didn’t work for the first six laps and that is sometimes something that “can happen,” he added.
“We don’t know why, but it’s the same for all riders in MotoGP.
“Sometimes you have a tire that only starts to work afterwards or does not start to work anymore.
“After six laps I had my pace and in the end I had the pace of Marc and Miguel, but I was too far.
“So sometimes you are very fast like in Portimao and Mugello. I made a mistake in Mugello, but a yellow flag in Portimao ruined my chances of winning.
“It’s a different story this time because my pace is good, but not like the Yamaha.
“I’ll try to stop them at the beginning of the race, but it will be difficult to stay with them for the whole race.”