Bagnaia “angry” after losing ground to Martin in MotoGP title fight

Francesco Bagnaia was “angry” after a bad start cost him victory in the San Marino Grand Prix sprint race.

The MotoGP world champion dominated practice on Friday and took pole for the sprint with a new lap record at Misano.

But a poor start allowed championship rival Jorge Martin to take the lead from fourth on the grid.

Bagnaia managed to hold on to second place after struggling with an overheated front tyre, but was disappointed with his second place, which now gives Pramac’s Martin a 26-point lead in the championship.

“I’m angry about my performance because I had a bad start, I didn’t find a good start with the clutch and I lost the first place.

“We know all too well how difficult it is to overtake on this circuit when you have the same pace as the drivers in front of you.

“I tried it the first few laps but then the front tyre got too hot and I started to lose it.

Start of the race

Photo by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Images

“So I had no chance to pass Jorge. This afternoon he was just faster… not faster, but he definitely did better.

“We have to perform better tomorrow, because we can’t make a start like that again.”

Bagnaia said he also struggled with the turbulent air behind Martin, adding: “I lost some speed coming out of turns six, eight and ten, I slid quite a bit on the bike, I was behind and everything changed.

“When you ride alone, everything is perfect, but when there is dirty air in the air, the bike behaves differently.”

Bagnaia, who crashed in the last race at Aragon, now trails Martin by 26 points in the championship and will be hoping his tyre choice pays off in Sunday’s race.

“After what happened in Aragon, it was important to finish the race. Get the most out of it, but finish the race.

“But tomorrow it will be a different race with the medium. You can’t push as you want with the medium and you have to be more careful in the first laps.

“I think some riders will try to go with the soft tyre because today it was quite good, apart from the last two, three laps. But I think it will also be a good choice.”