Francesco Bagnaia stopped on track to “calm down”…

Francesco Bagnaia stopped on track to “calm down” after frustrating Aragon practice

Francesco Bagnaia says he deliberately stopped on track after Aragon Grand Prix practice to calm down, becoming “frustrated with himself” over his failure to secure a berth in Q2.

The two-time MotoGP champion ended up as the slowest Ducati in Friday practice at Motorland Aragon, finishing over a second off the pace-setting Aprilia of Marco Bezzecchi in 13th place.

After struggling for pace throughout Friday on his factory GP26, he made a final push to break inside the top 10 on a fresh soft tyre, but the attempt came undone with a mistake at the final corner.

Bagnaia said afterwards that he deliberately stopped at the side of the track after taking the chequered flag to compose himself before returning to the garage.

“In the last lap, I tried everything to enter the top 10. I was close to doing it, but in the last corner I just went wide,” he said.

“I needed to stop. I didn't stop in the garage because I was very nervous and frustrated with myself that I didn't manage to finish a single lap.

“I needed to calm down a bit because in that situation, when you are frustrated and nervous, you can say many things that you are not thinking about.

“When you are working in a difficult situation it's easy to compromise the work of the team, so it was better to breathe a bit.

“When I was back in the garage, I spoke a lot with the team to understand things. Luckily, like always, there is Alex Marquez, who is making a difference in many aspects. So I really hope to find a way to follow what he's doing.”

Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Team (Photo by: Gold and Goose Photography / Getty Images)

While Bagnaia had been enjoying an improved run of results before the break, his results and confidence deteriorated when MotoGP returned at the British Grand Prix in August.

The Italian said he has not felt comfortable on the bike since Silverstone.

“I wasn't expecting this performance. I was expecting to be much faster but, unluckily, it was difficult,” he said.

“Something in terms of my feeling changed from Silverstone. Till Sachsenring, I was quite confident that we were improving and the results were a bit better. From Silverstone, I don't feel good on the bike and I struggle to do normal things.

“Also today, I was risking crashing many times, going very slow.”

Asked where he was struggling the most, Bagnaia said: “Braking, entry and rear grip. So, mostly everything.

“Honestly, the rear grip of the track looks better because it's more constant compared to others. But the thing for me is when I enter the corners, I lose the rear without doing anything. And as soon as I touch the gas, the first 10-15%, I lose it.

“And until I don't pick up the bike completely and I'm straight, I still spin and have a lot of movement. So my bike is still struggling to find some grip. But it's what it is.”

“Luckily the team is working well and I think they have a good idea on the table for tomorrow. I really hope that it will work.”