The GP of the Americas, the third round of the 2023 MotoGP season held this afternoon at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas, had an unfortunate ending for Francesco Bagnaia, who had to retire after crashing out while in the lead.
After dominating Saturday by first taking the pole position and then winning the Sprint race, Pecco started as the big favourite for Sunday’s GP, and he was quick to confirm expectations by immediately taking the lead after the race start. Unfortunately, as happened to many of his rivals (eight in total today’s crashes), Bagnaia also suffered a tumble, which ended his race early.
Michele Pirro, Enea Bastianini’s replacement in Austin, managed not to be betrayed by the pitfalls of the Texan track and closed the race eleventh, just a few seconds from the top ten. On the podium was the Desmosedici GP of Luca Marini (VR46 Racing Team), who crossed the line in second place.
After the GP of the Americas, Bagnaia is still second in the overall standings, 11 points behind leader Bezzecchi (VR46 Racing Team), while Ducati is first in the constructors’ standings.
Michele Pirro (#51, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 11th
“Finishing this race was very important for both the team and me, so I tried to be cautious and not take too many risks. Compared to the Sprint race, I found myself more in trouble in the first few laps: we made a change to the bike that we didn’t have time to try in the warm-up and that, in the end, didn’t allow me to stay hooked to the top ten in the race. In any case, it went well. We finished 11th and also got some points. I am very sorry for Pecco, but I am sure he will make up for it soon in the next Grands Prix. Thanks to the whole team for the great work these days.”
Francesco Bagnaia (#1, Ducati Lenovo Team) – Retired
“For the second weekend in a row, I crashed: I can’t give myself an explanation, making it even harder to accept. I made a mistake, but at the moment, I don’t understand what it was. It was a very strange fall, and now I will ask my team to analyze the data well to understand what happened. I know the Championship is still very long, but we have thrown away 45 points in the last two GPs, and it is definitely not the best.”
The Ducati Lenovo Team will be back on track in Jerez de la Frontera, from 28th-30th April, for the Spanish GP, the fourth round of the season.
- From Ducati Media House
