After battling with Marc Marquez, Pedro Acosta and Jorge Martin early on for the race lead, manufacturing unit Ducati rider Bagnaia slipped to fifth place on the chequered flag, ending over seven seconds behind race winner Maverick Vinales.
Not solely did Bagnaia lack the tempo to stick with Aprilia’s Vinales and second-placed Acosta on the KTM within the second half of the 20-lap contest, he additionally couldn’t put up a combat to the Ducati GP24s of team-mate Enea Bastianini and Pramac rider Martin, as he misplaced contact with the lead pack.
The Italian ran with a comfortable rear tyre on the Circuit of Americas, a alternative that helped Bastianini to seize third place on lap 18, having efficiently examined the longevity of the compound within the warm-up earlier on Sunday.
However a return of the tyre vibration downside that plagued him within the Qatar dash and impacted his Portugal weekend meant he had no choice however to preserve his place and salvage as many factors as potential in Austin.
“My race began properly, I used to be feeling good. I used to be pondering after lap six that I used to be in a position to combat for a win or a podium,” he mentioned.
“However I began to have loads of chattering, loads of vibrations on the left facet and it was very troublesome to handle every thing.
“I fully destroyed the tyre on the fitting facet. So, it was additionally troublesome to do corners on the fitting facet.
“So, I raced in defence after seven laps, six laps, and it was very troublesome. I attempted to handle every thing however like this, for positive we’ve got to grasp the scenario and remedy the issues as a result of proper now it’s totally troublesome.
Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati Crew
Picture by: Gold and Goose / Motorsport Photographs
“The scenario is similar to 2022, that within the begin of the season I needed to race in defence. All my belief is in my staff that we are going to remedy the issue. We can be battling for the highest once more.”
The US spherical was arguably Ducati’s least aggressive weekend of 2024, as Vinales recovered from eleventh on the grid to take a surprising victory and Tech3’s Acosta completed second to go away Ducati because the third-best marque.
Saturday’s dash was additionally tough for the Italian producer, with Bastianini and Bagnaia solely managing sixth and eighth – though Martin did seize third place on the Pramac.
Requested if he was fearful in regards to the chattering challenge, given how troublesome it’s to unravel for engineers, Bagnaia mentioned: “It is unusual as a result of Enea did not have any chattering this weekend, however he was actually in bother all weekend.
“I used to be feeling good, Martin was quick, however at the moment we struggled. So, it is obscure with three bikes, as a result of Franky [Morbidelli] continues to be studying so it is troublesome to place him on the identical bundle.
“Enea was scuffling with the brakes, struggling to let the bike flip. However at the moment was tremendous quick and with out issues [I] was in a position to combat for the win. I used to be in a position to combat for the win for simply six laps, and after that I began to wrestle.”
Reigning champion Bagnaia sits fifth within the standings after the opening three rounds of the season, already 30 factors off championship chief Martin. Nonetheless, the image within the riders’ desk is skewed by the 27-year-old’s DNF in Portugal, precipitated following a collision with Marquez.
Watch: MotoGP: Vinales recovers from eleventh to win | 2024 #AmericasGP
