Francesco Bagnaia and the Ducati Lenovo Team in a starring role at COTA with second place in the Sprint. Marc Márquez seventeenth after a crash

The Ducati Lenovo Team took second place in the U.S. Sprint with Francesco Bagnaia, who put together an excellent performance at the Circuit of The Americas. Marc Márquez was seventeenth at the flag following a crash in the early stages of the encounter.

Bagnaia got the perfect start from fourth place on the grid to take the lead. Pecco led the Sprint up to the final lap, when a drop in grip prevented him from successfully defending first position. After a good start from the second row, Márquez went down at turn 12. Marc managed to rejoin the race aboard his Desmosedici GP machine and finish seventeenth.

The Ducati Lenovo Team will return to action tomorrow morning at 10:40 local time (GMT -5) for the warm up, followed by the 19-lap Grand Prix of the United States, which gets underway at 15:00. Bagnaia will line up on the front row in third position.

Francesco Bagnaia (#63 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 2nd
“I'm happy with the podium, even though it hurts a bit that I missed out on the win. I gave it all, maybe a bit too much in the early laps, but I think we wouldn't have been able to secure a better result anyway, given the lack of grip we experienced at the end. I pushed as hard as I could in the first half of the final lap in order to defend the position, but I wasn't expecting an overtake at turn 12. We've worked very well so far: we made a step forward in the time attack, which until now had been an issue, and the good qualifying allowed us to stay at the front and push hard the way we know we can.”

Marc Márquez (#93 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 17th
“It was a mistake that had consequences, as we involved Fabio (Diggia) in the crash, and that makes us even more sorry. I didn't take into account the three-bike slipstream and, under braking, there was a point where I couldn't get the bike stopped; I tried to go down the inside and then run wide, but when I hit a bump, the front tucked. It's a shame, especially for Diggia, who had no blame. Now we need to see what the situation will be like tomorrow and give our best.”