Francesco Bagnaia took a solid third place in the Sprint race held this afternoon at the Bugatti circuit in Le Mans. Starting from pole, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider managed to keep himself in first position after the start but was then overtaken by Jorge Martín (Pramac Racing) and Brad Binder. Pecco had to fight with Marc Márquez as the two engaged in a heated duel for the third position. After finishing behind the Spaniard on lap six, Bagnaia finally managed to regain the third step of the podium with four laps to go. Thanks to today’s result, the reigning World Champion remains at the top of the overall standings with a 23-point lead over Binder.
On the other hand, Danilo Petrucci, Enea Bastianini’s replacement at Le Mans, closed a good race in 16th position, less than 20 seconds behind the winner, after starting from 19th on the grid. Jorge Martin was today’s Sprint race winner with the Desmosedici GP of the Pramac Racing team.
Francesco Bagnaia (#1, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 3rd
“I am happy with third place today, especially given the difficulties I had initially. It was a very close race, and I had much fun battling with Marc Marquez. The only thing I can’t explain is why in Jerez, I was penalized for an overtake similar to the one I suffered from him today in the race. I am not asking for a penalty for Marc, but I would just like to understand why I had to serve a penalty two weeks ago for what was considered a normal race accident today. Now, however, we have to focus on tomorrow’s GP. I don’t want to make any strategy; we will have to stay calm and figure out how to handle the situation in the race.”
Danilo Petrucci (#9, Ducati Lenovo Team) – 16th
“I am satisfied, considering today was my second day riding this bike. In qualifying, I finished just over a second off Pecco’s pole and in the race, I managed to set my best time on the last lap. Now we will make a few more small adjustments, and I believe that in tomorrow’s GP, I can aim for some points.”
The Ducati Lenovo Team riders will be back on track tomorrow at 9:45am local time for the warm-up, while the French GP will be held at 2pm over a 27-lap distance
- From Ducati Media House
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