Pecco Bagnaia says there is a "scientific reason" for why he's underperformed - in relative terms - in MotoGP sprints since their introduction in 2023.
While Bagnaia has a respectable 11 sprint wins since the start of that season, that up to now represents a win rate of 27.5% - a marked reduction compared to his 45% win rate in full-distance grands prix in the same span. He was outscored handily by Jorge Martin over the totality of the sprints in both 2023 and 2024, which last year was enough to cost him the MotoGP title.
Bagnaia has now begun the 2025 season with another relatively muted sprint at Buriram - in which he salvaged a third place but looked powerless to truly challenge the Marquez brothers ahead of him - and admitted after the race that his feeling on the bike wasn't quite right.
While part of his problem was that he wore out the hard front tyre (the two riders ahead of him had chosen the soft), Bagnaia also said that he was still struggling on corner entry in sprint spec - despite improving his sprint performances having been a specific focus in the off-season.
He elaborated afterwards: "There's a scientific reason why I'm struggling in the sprint. We were trying to understand a bit, and honestly the only thing that changed from long races is the fuel tank - it's smaller, by regulations.
"So it changes a bit the dynamic of the bike. And I'm struggling more on the braking and corner entry.
"But we are working on it, we are trying to solve it. Today we just did the standard way, but next time we will try something different."
Bagnaia said the issue can be mitigated when he's out in the lead - because without a slipstream "I can force in the braking" - but that he can't quite make it work yet while running in the pack.
The MotoGP regulations mandate a sprint fuel tank with a maximum capacity of 12 litres - compared to 22 for the main event.
The Race asked Bagnaia whether he'd tried doing a sprint sim of sorts while using the main race fuel tank half-fuelled up instead, and Bagnaia acknowledged that he did and that "I was faster".
"But it’s something that you cannot do [in a real sprint], by the regulations," he reiterated.
"We are trying something different - like set-up, or adding different things on the bike.
"But it’s a long journey to improve it. It’s already two seasons that the problem is more or less the same.”
Fellow Ducati rider Franco Morbidelli acknowledged Bagnaia's point when asked about the fuel tank comments by The Race.
"There is some difference, yes," said Morbidelli, who finished fifth in the Buriram sprint
"We [Bagnaia and I] have similar characteristics.
"Usually I also feel better with the race fuel tank. And hopefully it's going to be like this also tomorrow."
