Reigning world champion Pecco Bagnaia says struggles with Michelin’s MotoGP tyres are making the championship “not balanced” after his tough Emilia Romagna Grand Prix.
The Ducati rider led Friday’s follow session and took pole place on Saturday, earlier than a triumphant dash victory in entrance of his dwelling crowd.
He stated he arrived on Sunday with the tempo to win and “all the pieces was set”, main the primary lap and working forward for the following two excursions.
Bagnaia was then handed by title rival Jorge Martin on lap 4 earlier than being pressured to decelerate amid points together with his rear medium tyre, which he stated “wasn’t working for 15 laps” regardless of having no points with temperature or stress.
He slipped from a 1m31.757s on lap two to a 1m32.034s on lap 5, remaining within the late 1m31s for a number of laps whereas the leaders ran round 0.5s faster.
It took the two-time champion till round lap 15 to regain his earlier tempo, by which level he was virtually three seconds adrift of chief Martin and second-place runner Enea Bastianini.
Talking about his tyre woes after the race, Bagnaia stated it was “a disgrace” due to his robust efficiency throughout the remainder of the weekend, and believes it’s a “big drawback” that tyre points are affecting the title battle.
“From the beginning, I misplaced the rear within the heat up lap within the final nook, I misplaced the rear within the first nook and nook 13, I misplaced the entrance in Flip 14,” he stated.
“I used to be pushing lots and I used to be doing 1m31.8s, 1m31.7s, 1m31.8s, after which in a second from a lap to a different lap, I dropped my lap time by six, seven, eight-tenths with out doing something, simply using.
“So I don’t know. The sensation with the rear tyre was kind of the identical as Barcelona final yr after I struggled lots within the heat up lap and I misplaced it within the second nook. Fortunately, this observe has extra grip than Barcelona, nevertheless it was the identical.
“The rear was not working, I used to be like a cone for different riders, and that is actually unusual. I by no means heard a rider complaining that the rear tyre began to work after 15 laps, I feel it’s new for everyone.”
Bagnaia stated fellow Ducati rider Marc Marquez had struggled with the medium rear throughout Friday’s follow, whereas Bastianini additionally had points on the primary day of the weekend.
Requested what it meant for the championship if tyre points may have an effect on the title battle, he continued: “It’s a disgrace, however I do know 100% that Michelin don’t know what occurred with the tyres.
“This can be a drawback, however they don’t know. They wish to give to us the identical likelihood each time, however for some motive, generally it’s not working the identical.
“For me it’s a disgrace, as a result of I did all of the weekend in an ideal manner. I used to be comfy with my bodily situation, I used to be capable of push like I needed, all the pieces was set.
“Then I arrived within the race with the tempo to win the race, ranging from pole place, main the primary lap, after which I needed to decelerate as a result of the tyres usually are not prepared, the tyres usually are not there.
“This can be a big drawback that’s making the championship not balanced on this second. I get within the final three grands prix three conditions which are out of our management. It’s true that within the two Misanos I simply misplaced 5 factors, nevertheless it’s additionally true that it may have been a lot better for us.
“The potential for going away from right here main the championship was very excessive, however we didn’t have the prospect.”
Bagnaia’s grand prix finally resulted in a crash at Flip 8 with six laps remaining, locking the entrance and ending up within the gravel.
It marked his seventh DNF of the season – his third in a full-length grand prix, with the remaining non-scores coming in dash races.
“I don’t know what was regular right now, all the pieces was fairly unusual from this morning,” he stated. “However nothing, I used to be straight, as a result of I used to be having 32 levels, and usually in observe situations you’ll be able to crash straight like this.
“I didn’t brake onerous, I braked 18 metres earlier than [I did on] the quickest lap I did, and I nonetheless misplaced the entrance like I touched a bump however there’s not. Unusual, however all the pieces is unusual from the beginning.”
Regardless of having recovered time to these forward earlier than his crash, Bagnaia stated he would nonetheless have been unable to win even when his race had not ended prematurely.
“Win the race? No,” he stated. “Look what occurred then [between Martin and Bastianini], sure. However I used to be gaining.
“It’s true that after that lap, they began to drop lots the lap time, so perhaps sure. I already recovered one second, 1.5s, so perhaps I used to be capable of win the race, however to shut the hole and to overhaul are two totally different tales.
“However in any case, already ending the race may have been a superb factor.”
Bagnaia is now 24 factors behind Martin with six rounds remaining. The championship heads straight into the following spherical, with the paddock dashing to Indonesia for the following spherical in simply 5 days’ time.