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Francesco Bagnaia had a smile on his face after the first day of running in the Japanese MotoGP as he not only finished the session near the top, but also claimed that he was able to regain his braking prowess.
The Italian has gone through a somewhat bad patch of results in the last three races. It began with a horrific accident in Barcelona that saw KTM's Brad Binder's bike run over Francesco Bagnaia's legs(after he had fallen from his bike).
The Italian missed the race and was severely injured. However, he made a swift return to the race in Misano, but the injured leg meant he could only do damage limitation as he finished the race behind championship contenders Jorge Martin and Marco Bezzechi.
The race in India was the worst for Francesco Bagnaia as the Ducati rider crashed out from a strong P2 position and handed crucial points to rival Jorge Martin.
Coming into the race at Motegi, the Italian had admitted that his strength under braking had deserted him and that he needed to find the laptime in that particular area.
After Friday, Bagnaia claimed that he had been able to accomplish that. He told MotoGP.com:
"I’m very happy. Finally we found the way back at the top. It has been a long time since I was fast on a Friday. I’m happy for the step in front we did in braking and finally I can push again like I was doing before. For tomorrow it is clear that we have to do another step but right now I’m quite happy."
"We can fight for top positions"- Francesco Bagnaia
With Jorge Martin right behind him in P4, the challenge between the two riders will continue this weekend as well. The Pramac Ducati rider has closed the gap to just 13 points after being more than 60 points behind at one point.
However, Bagnaia was confident of his prospects for the weekend and felt that he could fight for top positions. He said:
"I was. And also to see that I was able to be more constant under braking was nice. I have to say thanks to my team who have worked a lot to try something different. Let’s see what happens tomorrow but I’m quite sure that we can fight all weekend for the top positions."
With both riders expecting to start close to each other, it will be interesting to see the two battling it out at the front.
