Bagnaia often struggled during the Friday free practice session, but then showed himself to be very competitive in qualifying and won the sprint and the main race. The difficulties on Friday became a tradition for Bagnaia and then surprised him on Saturday and Sunday.

“Like every Friday since the start of this season, we worked hard on Friday. “We were able to improve our situation and finally in the second practice session I felt better with the tires used, where I was as fast as the fastest drivers, and that was important,” said Pecco , Bagnaia’s nickname in MotoGP. .

“In time attacks, I only had one chance to take a ride, and it went well. “So I’m very happy to be able to go straight to Q2 because it’s not easy to do a very good lap,” said the Italian driver.

“And it would be good to just focus on tomorrow morning (FP2) to improve our situation. However, at the moment I feel good on the bike, I’m happy with this result,” said Pecco.

Also read: Bagnaia: “It’s not our fault”

He also struggled greatly due to the hot weather in India which depleted his stamina. However, he believes, it could determine the outcome of the race if he manages to adapt to the weather.

“Never (have I been so hot). I thought it was already too hot in Malaysia and Thailand, but here it is very physically demanding. You can feel the burn in certain parts of the track, and on the long straights it’s incredible. However, this is what is happening and we can do something about it. “It will be a little different during the race because if you feel better in these warm conditions you will be able to do something,” Pecco said.

Despite the difficulty of combining lap times in each sector during the practice session, Pecco always targeted the start of the front row. “The goal is always to be on the front row,” said the MotoGP ranking leader.

Marini and Martin are solid

A different situation was experienced by Marini and Prima Pramac Racing rider Jorge Martin, who both ride Ducatis. They finished the practice session in first and second positions as they managed to find solid bike setups and adjust their riding style.

“Yes, a fantastic day for me. I was very strong from the start on this track, from the first lap, where I knew how to adapt my driving style very well. “Yesterday I prepared very well by familiarizing myself with the circuit and learning the braking points,” said Marini.

“From the start I was very strong, but I also remember our first trip to Indonesia, where I was P1 from the first day of testing. “So it’s something that’s in me, I can adapt well to new things and that’s very good,” said Valentino Rossi’s younger brother.

“But apart from that we have to work hard because tomorrow, in my opinion, the drivers of the factory team will take a big step forward. So our current level is not enough. We have to improve running pace “Because it is very difficult to understand the tires here, even for sprints, I am not sure the soft tire will be better than the medium tire,” said Marini, who set a new lap record at Buddh in 1 minute 44.782 seconds.

Also read: The happiest day of Bagnaia’s life

“It’s very difficult with traction, especially on the left side, because the tires we have here are a little softer on the left side and in hot temperatures like this it doesn’t work very well. “So we will work with Michelin, maybe we will have to try another compromise for next year if we come back here,” Marini said.

“However, I really enjoy the braking, the fast turns, the long right turns with banking “It’s something new,” said the Italian driver.

Marini also felt that the heat in India was draining his energy, especially since the track was also difficult as there were several hard braking events, such as turns one and four. The fourth corner, according to Brembo data, is the most difficult braking point. An example is when Martin braked from a speed of 347 kilometers per hour to 81 kilometers per hour in just a few seconds.

“Yes, it’s very hot, but what’s more, the track is very physically difficult. Yes, there are long straights, but then there are sudden braking, and it’s not very easy. We have to push our bike, so it’s not easy to ride, but the potential is huge. “On Sunday the main thing is to start well, while getting some air (in peak position),” Marini said.

For the same amount, Martin also really enjoyed the training sessions on the Buddh circuit because he was able to immediately set a good time. He is optimistic and thinks it can be even better on Saturday and Sunday. “Overall it’s a fun day, I feel great on this track because I can immediately have fun here,” Martin said.

“We will try to be better, that’s the most important thing, never back down, and I’m sure we can maintain that tomorrow. “In my opinion, we managed to achieve an extraordinary lap time, we We stepped on the accelerator and had good grip, I hope tomorrow we will stay in front,” said Martin.

“Yes, it’s very different from the circuit we usually use, so I’m very happy with today’s results,” Martin said.

He also thinks the warm weather will play a big role in Sunday’s long race. Running 24 laps will be very exhausting.

“Obviously we have to manage the fitness, it’s very hot there, I struggled in the second training session because it was very hot. “Obviously we will have to overcome this on Saturday and Sunday,” said the Spaniard.

I hope the Aprilia duo

The two riders from the Aprilia Factory team experienced difficulties at the start of the test session, but they were then able to find better bike settings. Aleix Espargaro finished the practice session in third place and Maverick Vinales in sixth place. Vinales felt he needed to improve his braking because that was what was losing him time.

“Today wasn’t too bad, I really enjoyed this layout of the circuit. However, it’s a little different from what I expected. “I expected it to be like Malaysia and Qatar, but it’s narrower, slower, with a lot of second gear corners,” Espargaro said.

“However, I want to say that they (India) have done a very good job, Dorna has done a very good job, the circuit layout is not bad. “After 12-14 years, it does not “There hasn’t been a GP here, the changes made are good, the track conditions are better than we expected, so everything is good so far,” Espargaro said.

He believes the performance will be even better because the track matches the character of the Aprilia RS-GP. “Yes, it will be good, our bike is good here because there is not much grip and we are improving in the tight corners, like the first, third and last corner, but in general the bike works good,” Espargaro said. .

Meanwhile, Vinales, in difficulty at the start of training, was finally able to find a small margin of progress to move directly into Q2.

“We experienced a bit of difficulty, it’s not what we usually experience on Fridays. However, there are good signs and we need to be better tomorrow. I have to work on the settings of the bike because I don’t feel comfortable on the bike, I’m really struggling. I’m working hard to be in Q2, but we’ll see tomorrow. “We have to figure it all out because my lap times are very good in the top three, top four, so tomorrow we have to put that together in one lap,” Vinales said.

“I need to be better at braking, that’s the only area where I really struggle, the others are pretty good. However, in braking I am not as good as usual, so we have to be better,” Vinales said.