Among the most notable incidents during practice for Solidarity Barcelona MotoGP was an odd FP1 crash involving Bagnaia and Viñales which unfolded dramatically just as the practice session concluded.
The first free practice session provided a captivating glimpse into the competitive landscape as riders geared up for the season’s final race weekend.
Francesco Bagnaia’s session took a dramatic turn after the chequered flag as the factory Ducati rider was cruising at a slow pace when a speeding Maverick Vinales approached him near the end of the start/finish straight.
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The unexpected maneuver from the Aprilia forced Bagnaia to lock the front of his GP24 and subsequently crash into the gravel at Turn 1, scraping his leathers. Fortunately, he emerged unscathed from the incident but was frustrated over what had transpired.
The session was long done by that point, with riders only remaining on the circuit to finish practice starts in anticipation of Saturday’s sprint and Sunday’s year-ending race, making the FP1 crash incident all the more strange.
In his explanation of the events, Bagnaia acknowledged that he slowed down the bike more than he should have, but that he was taken by surprise when his Aprilia rival decided to pass him around the outside of the right-hander.
“I missed the start because my rear tyre spun and we are on the limit with the engine so I didn’t want to push on that because you never know,” he recalled. “So my mistake was to slow down that much but honestly when you are arriving that fast you go from the inside and it was full of space from the inside.
“I started to hear him and I thought he will go from the inside. But as soon as I saw him arriving in a normal speed from the outside on the kerb with the bike moving, I got scared so I lost the front like this.
“The bike with these tyres doesn’t like it when you change direction quickly so you have to change things in a smooth way and I didn’t do that.”
Viñales later appeared puzzled by the FP1 crash, gesturing “what did I do?” while reviewing footage in the pits. He felt he gave enough room to Bagnaia when he passed him going into Turn 1 and the Italian likely braked too hard after getting freaked out by his faster Aprilia.
“It’s not about who is at fault. practice start is to practice the start, you arrive at the first corner trying to disengage, so you brake late,” Vinales said. “Pecco was in the middle, very slow, I don’t know.
“I tried to avoid him, I went outside, but I gave him two bikes [of space]. I don’t even pass ‘close-close’. When I saw the crash [I thought] maybe I ‘crashed’ him, I don’t know.
“But then I saw the replay and there was plenty of room. I think he got scared or something. He grabbed the front brake and locked the front tyre, but it was crazy.”
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