Bagnaia dominates Saturday of the GP of the Americas at Austin as he takes pole and his second Sprint Race victory of the season

Francesco Bagnaia dominated Saturday of the GP of the Americas, the third round of the 2023 MotoGP season held this weekend at the Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Texas. After taking pole position in this morning’s qualifying session, setting the new all-time lap record for the U.S. track, Pecco imposed himself again in a scorching Sprint Race in the afternoon, as he took a masterful victory, also setting the fastest lap of the race.

After a brief duel with Alex Rins for the first position, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider took the lead on the first lap and stayed there until the checkered flag. For Bagnaia, this is his second Sprint win of the season, after the one he took in Portimão at the end of March. Moreover, thanks to today’s success, Pecco is now just one point away from the top of the standings, which sees Marco Bezzecchi still leading.

It was an unlucky GP for Michele Pirro, who is competing in Austin as a replacement for the injured Enea Bastianini. The rider from San Giovanni Rotondo, 18th in qualifying, ran into a crash on the fifth lap and was forced to retire.

Francesco Bagnaia (#1, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“I am delighted with our results today! After the nice pole this morning, we managed to win the Sprint Race. We finally made a track that was always quite hostile for us friendly. Now we have to stay focused for tomorrow’s GP. Compared to today, the temperatures will be lower, and many riders have the pace to stay at the front, but we can surely do well in tomorrow’s race too.”

Michele Pirro (#51, Ducati Lenovo Team) – Retired
“I am really disappointed about this crash. The guys did an outstanding job allowing me to improve in each session, so I looked forward to finishing the race. Unfortunately, when I saw Quartararo’s crash, I probably lost concentration and made a mistake. Now we have tomorrow’s GP left, where I aim to do better.”

Luigi Dall’Igna (Ducati Corse General Manager).
“Pecco did an incredible job today. After this morning’s pole position, he did another beautiful race where he managed the situation in the best possible way by pushing when it was necessary. We are very happy, and now we must stay focused to get the best result in tomorrow’s GP.”

The GP of the Americas will start tomorrow at 2:00pm local time (9:00pm in Italy) over a 20-lap distance.

• From Ducati Media House