Which MotoGP will Francesco Bagnaia see at Phillip Island: the Motegi model, the place he set a powerful double time from pole place, or the Misano Mandalica model, the place he struggled mightily on both facet of that excellent weekend?
That is the important thing query heading into the Australian Grand Prix. Bagnaia can be Ducati Lenovo’s solely full-time rider within the Australian Grand Prix following a shoulder damage to teammate and newly topped world champion Marc Marquez.
Having struggled all season to realize front-end confidence on nook entry, Bagnaia’s fortunes instantly modified when he switched again to the outdated GP24 elements on the Misano after which Motegi assessments.
Nonetheless, only a week later at Mandalika, the identical drawback recurred on his improved bike, and it was there that he suffered his worst second of the MotoGP season.
“We come into this race after a sophisticated weekend and we’re working onerous to know precisely what occurred at Mandalika,” Bagnaia mentioned.
“The objective is to get again the identical feeling I had on the course at Motegi.”
If the Italian can rediscover his kind, and with former Phillip Island winner Marc Marquez, Jorge Martín and Maverick Vinales sidelined by damage, he might turn into one of many favorites to win the long-awaited first Australian Grand Prix victory.
“Philip Island is an incredible circuit that takes your breath away, particularly on a high-performance bike like a MotoGP bike. It is completely lovely!” Bagnaia mentioned of the quick, flowing seaside circuit.
“Lately, I’ve at all times been quick and constant right here, even when there have been no wins.”
Bagnaia began the ultimate 4 rounds 88 factors behind Alex Marquez within the race for second place within the title, with solely 20 factors separating him from Bezzecchi.
