Francesco Bagnaia began his 2024 Thai Grand Prix campaign with a solid performance, ranking fourth in practice—a clear improvement from his start in 2023. The Italian rider, representing Ducati, closed Friday’s practice session trailing his teammate Enea Bastianini, along with key championship contenders Marc Marquez and Jorge Martin. Despite his position among the leaders, the day brought unexpected challenges for Bagnaia, making his path to a top finish anything but straightforward.
Bagnaia faced issues with one of his bikes that disrupted his rhythm and prevented him from finding the ideal setup early in the session. The discomfort persisted until his team decided on a full overhaul of the bike, a move that ultimately allowed him to feel more connected to his machine. According to Bagnaia, the adjustments were necessary but required recalibrating the day’s strategy. This need for adaptation set him back in terms of lap times, yet his determination pushed him forward.
“To be honest, one of our two bikes had a small issue,” Bagnaia explained to MotoGP.com. “We tried something new with that bike, which forced us to change plans. The second bike didn’t respond the way I hoped, and although I tried to adjust, it wasn’t giving me the comfort I needed. Just before the time attack, we made a significant change in direction, and that’s when everything started feeling right again.”
With the bike now set up to his liking, Bagnaia performed well in the time attack but didn’t quite achieve the perfect lap he had hoped for. While he managed to place high on the timesheets, he admitted that the potential for an even faster time slipped away in his second attempt. Despite this, Bagnaia remained positive about his results and was glad that his team managed to resolve the issues before the end of the day.
Reflecting on the practice session, Bagnaia expressed optimism, noting that while the adjustments were difficult to implement, they were ultimately effective. Heading into the Sprint Race, he is focused on making “a few small improvements” to get the best possible performance out of his GP24 and is eager to see how he fares against his top competitors.