Francesco Bagnaia finished the first day of practice at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in 8th position. The World Champion started the day with some difficulties, but eventually managed to get straight through to Q2.
The Italian Ducati Lenovo Team rider spoke in a debrief and explained the feelings he had during his first day at the Portimão circuit.
– ‘ I’m in the top 10 so I’m happy. This morning was useless, but in the afternoon it was better for us. I’m happy to be in Q2 and to understand the path we have to follow. I know my potential and I know what I can do. If I’m first on Friday it means I’m ready for the rest of the weekend, but it will never be an obsession, I just want to be in a good position and with the bike ready to go fast.
The Italian rider was asked about the differences from last year’s bike and with the possibility of winning again, given that he won both races in the 22/23 season, Pecco replied:
– ‘We started with the same setup as last year, but honestly this bike needs different things and last year we had tests here and not this year. Last year I had less weight on the front and it was better, but not this year, in the last corner I was losing two tenths and this year I’m winning, but also losing in other places that I didn’t lose last year, so we have to take a different direction tomorrow.