P1racenews AI automatic summary:
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia has revealed a fuel tank issue has been the reason for his struggles in MotoGP Sprint races.
During the season opener in Thailand, Bagnaia finished third, but was more than three seconds behind Marc Marquez, the race winner and his new teammate. Despite winning seven races in 2024, Bagnaia struggles in Sprint races and attributes it to changes in the fuel tanks. He mentioned that the smaller fuel tank alters the bike’s dynamics, making it challenging for him during sprints. Bagnaia revealed that he struggles more on the entry due to this change. He also shared that problems with the fuel tank are more pronounced when he is behind other bikes during races. Bagnaia experimented with a different front tire choice for the Sprint, opting for the hard one, unlike Marc and Alex Marquez who used the soft tire. Considering excessive wear on the soft tire, he is unsure about his tire choice for the grand prix and aims to solve this issue.
