It had already been hinted at on MotoGP training Friday and became reality just 24 hours later: There is simply no getting past Ducati star Francesco Bagnaia at the Dutch TT in 2024. The Italian followed up his record lap on Friday afternoon with the FP2 best time on Saturday in Assen, then pole position in qualifying, setting another lap record and finally a safe victory in the sprint, which allowed him to make up further ground in the battle for the World Championship. Nevertheless, Bagnaia was not in the mood to celebrate on Saturday evening.
“We have another race tomorrow and the Sunday race is always the main goal,” said Bagnaia at the beginning of his media round when asked about the perfect MotoGP Saturday. The Turin native is obviously not yet confident: “At the moment it looks like a really good weekend. My bike feels great, everything is working smoothly and I’m very happy about that, but that can change quickly.”
Francesco Bagnaia reveals weakness: Not satisfied with hard front
A statement that is of course not surprising on paper, as the reigning MotoGP world champion has had to deal with a number of setbacks this season. But now he seems to have got rolling, as he celebrated his fourth MotoGP victory in a row in the Assen sprint – and it could have even been five if Bagnaia had not crashed on the last lap of the Barcelona sprint while leading. The 27-year-old has clearly become the man of the hour in the premier class and will probably be hard to beat on Sunday in the Dutch TT.
There is at least a small glimmer of hope for Bagnaia’s MotoGP opponents. “I wasn’t really happy with the hard front tire in the sprint today because it didn’t offer me that much grip in the fast corners,” said the defending champion, revealing a small weakness in Ducati. With 25 degrees in the air and a full 50 degrees on the asphalt, the sprint confronted the MotoGP riders with the hottest temperatures in Assen so far. The medium front tire was suddenly no longer an option, only a few riders from the back of the field dared to take the risk – without being rewarded for it.
However, temperatures are expected to be a little colder on race Sunday, with around 20 degrees in the air and cloudy skies. This could make the medium an exciting option again, as the hard tyre might offer a little less grip in cooler, shady conditions than it did in the sprint. If the sun does come out, however, the medium tyre could quickly lose performance and not make it through the distance. Another Bagnaia victory in the main race on the TT Circuit Assen is therefore far from certain.
Francesco Bagnaia in World Cup mode: 2-3 points every weekend are enough
But it doesn’t have to be a race win, Bagnaia revealed on Saturday. Because in the World Championship battle with Thanks to his strong results in recent weeks, he is now within striking distance of Jorge Martin, 15 points behind, and no longer needs to rely on ‘big points’. “One small mistake can cost you a lot of points because Jorge is always at the front,” says Bagnaia. “He did an excellent job again today because he had big problems yesterday and this morning, but then he also drove an incredible lap in qualifying and was strong in the sprint.”
The current World Championship runner-up does not want to overdo it on Sunday and force a win by any means necessary, and if necessary he also wants to take second or third place. The horror scenario of a crash and Martin winning at the same time must be avoided at all costs. “We just have to carry on as we have recently, we must not become obsessed with trying to make up too many points,” warns Bagnaia and sets the direction: “Two to three points every weekend are now absolutely sufficient.”
If you want to get a more detailed picture of the current MotoGP World Championship standings, you can click here:
The 2024 MotoGP World Championship standings