Reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia has admitted that the introduction of Saturday sprint races this year has helped him a lot in his title defense after he retired for the third time out of five races in Sunday's main races at Le Mans.
Bagnaia was the victim of a collision with Maverick Vinales this time in France, with whom he was battling for third place, but despite the fact that he retired in more races than he finished, he still leads the overall championship, where he still has one point advantages. The Ducati rider collected 96 points this year, 44 of them in sprint races.
"Sprint races are a big help, because without them I would be far behind the leader," admitted the Italian. "I won 44 points on them, which definitely helps. This year we are always in the front, in the lead, but the form of the other racers fluctuates, which explains why I am still at the top. Years ago, with three retirements, I wouldn't have been able to lead in the championship, because there were always the same four drivers in the lead, and just one mistake could cost you the title."
Bagnaia believes MotoGP has changed so much that any rider can win. "At one time, the fastest factory motorcycles were, while semi-factory motorcycles were six or seven tenths of a second slower per lap. Today we all race much closer to the limit, so anyone can win the race."
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