Francesco Bagnaia has questioned his one-position penalty in the Assen MotoGP Sprint.
What happened?
Bagnaia was running in sixth for most of the Sprint, but in trying to pass Jorge Martin for fifth on the exit of the last chicane on the final lap he touched the green part on the outside of the kerb with part of his tyre.
The Ducati Lenovo Team rider explained afterwards that he touched the green to avoid hitting Martin.
## Why it matters for Francesco Bagnaia
“Honestly, I want to rewatch the image because I think more than half the time I was on the kerb, so it’s a bit on the limit this penalty,” Francesco Bagnaia explained after the Sprint.
Bagnaia was close to destroying his race at the start, too.
## What comes next?
In some ways he did, because in trying to avoid jumping the start he got a poor launch that ultimately cost him a shot at battling for the win, in his opinion.
“Honestly, it was my mistake,” he said.
Bagnaia’s weakest points on the track were the two fastest left-handers: turns seven and 15.
The Italian said he was suffering with vibrations in these corners.
Despite the setbacks, Bagnaia’s potential in the Sprint was encouraging.
Coming one week on from his Sprint win in Czechia, the 28-year-old seems to have figured out the half-distance races after struggling with them even in his title years.
“I’m two years late to understand what to do in the Sprints,” he said.
If I recognize that I can do it, I do it, but if I can’t recognize that, it’s better to finish, I just try to finish.
Bagnaia finished seventh in the Assen MotoGP Sprint on 24 Jun