Francesco Bagnaia: “I f**ked up!” Tomorrow “another story”

Reigning double MotoGP champion Francesco Bagnaia looked set to celebrate his first Sprint victory since Austria last August as he controlled the pace at the front of Saturday’s Portimao race.

The factory Ducati star grabbed the lead from the KTM of Jack Miller on lap 2 and was keeping just out of reach of his pursuers when he crossed the line with four laps to go.

But Bagnaia then made a ‘huge mistake’ by underestimating the effect of the reducing fuel load in the hard, downhill braking zone for Turn 1, running wide and dropping to fourth.

Asked what had happened, Bagnaia smiled: “I f**ked up!”

“I started well. Was attacking. Then I could open and manage the gap, so everything was perfect.

“But I didn't consider the fact of the fuel consumption and that the first corner is a bit strange because the steep downhill makes the rear get [higher]. And I was braking always the same.

"Then I just tried to avoid a crash by going wide, but I lost everything."

The issue of the rear starting to float more under braking as the fuel load decreases is something “I feel a bit more” with the GP24 and “much more in this track.

“It was something that I had to consider, but I didn't!”

Insisting it had not been a lapse of concentration, the Italian added: “I think I’ve managed much more high-pressure situations…

“I was fully focused on keeping the same pace, keeping the same gap with the guys behind.

“I tried to do a slower lap in 39.0 [on lap 7 of 12] then I did a 38.7 to open the gap again, [controlling] like I was doing in Qatar.

“To be as constant as possible you have to do always the same thing - but as soon I braked… So for tomorrow it’s something that I will consider more. But everything will change with the medium rear tyre [instead of the soft], so it will be another story.”

After re-joining Bagnaia remained in fourth, 4.155s behind Aprilia Sprint winner Maverick Vinales.

"In the last four laps I was just trying to arrive without making any more mistakes because I did already a huge mistake. So it was important to finish the race with the maximum points possible. 

“For sure it was better to win today, finally, because it's a long time that I wasn't feeling like this in a Sprint race.

“This kind of mistake is not helping, but we have to take the positives and see that we were able again to fight in a Sprint race with a soft rear tyre that hasn't been my best feeling.”

Bagnaia continues to hold the early world championship lead, now by two points over Jorge Martin, third on Saturday.

Team-mate and pole qualifier Enea Bastianini couldn’t engage his front holeshot device at the start and spent almost the entire race in sixth.

“I deactivated the front device at the start,” he said. “When I arrived on the grid then it just pops [back up]. I braked a lot and it deactivated. My error.

“Then the bike wheelied a lot, also because the electronics settings are designed to be used with the holeshot [device].”