Bagnaia hit with three-place grid penalty for San Marino MotoGP

Francesco Bagnaia
(Photo: Francesco Bagnaia Facebook)
MISANO ADRIATICO, Italy — Francesco Bagnaia's hopes of a fourth successive victory to keep the pressure on MotoGP series leader Fabio Quartararo suffered a blow on Friday as he was handed a three-place grid penalty for the San Marino Grand Prix.اضافة اعلان

The 25-year-old Ducati rider was judged to have impeded Alex Marquez during the morning's free practice.

Bagnaia finished sixth and 0.439 seconds behind Quartararo in a disappointing run at Misano Adriatico.

A MotoGP statement said Bagnaia was found to have been "riding slow on the racing line, causing a dangerous situation for other riders.

"No appeal can be made, which means the decision is final," the statement added.

Bagnaia is 44 points behind Yamaha rider Quartararo, the reigning world champion.

Quartararo was fastest in Friday's first free practice session, posting a time of 1min 32.313sec.

He was already ahead of the pack with seven minutes remaining of the session when he recorded his best time on the final lap.

Bagnaia's teammate Jack Miller was second, 0.224sec off the pace, while veteran Michele Pirro finished in an impressive third at 0.380sec.

Aprilia's Aleix Espargaro sits second in the overall standings, trailing Quartararo by 32 points, and finished fourth in the practice run, 0.385sec back.


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