Francesco Bagnaia did not have an ideal start to his weekend but managed to secure a Q2 position for Saturday.

On Friday at Phillip Island Francesco Bagnaia left it late to set a competitive lap time. The MotoGP riders lost all of the morning Practice session in Australia due to the heavy rainfall. However, once the reigning Champion got out on track he was greeted by further problems from his Ducati.

The Italian felt uncomfortable on his number one bike around the iconic circuit. But he still believed he would be able to set a lap time fast enough to get into Qualifying two on Saturday.

After switching to his number two bike after a brief red flag Bagnaia was back on the pace. The #1 Ducati made his way up the timesheets and he ended the session in fifth place.

“I was quite sure to enter in Q2, honestly,” Bagnaia told MotoGP.com. “But it was not the ideal start of a session because, with the first bike, I wasn't feeling well, so I had to stop and start with the other one, which wasn't ready.

“So, it was a bit of a rush at that moment. But as soon I started with the other bike, I understood what to do on the bike and worked very well with the team. Finally I was able to have a great pace with the used rear tyre and then the time attack went quite well.

“Unluckily we didn't have the chance to go with the full performance due to the yellow flags. I think we were able to finish in first or second position but it’s enough to finish 5th today. The objective was to be in the top 10 and we did it. So, happy about that, but I want to do another step tomorrow. We know what to do. And I think we have the potential to do it.”

Bagnaia shared the opinion of other riders, describing the new Phillip Island surface as grippy but bumpy.

“I think that the level of grip is very high and feels good, but it's very bumpy and it's quite strange to have these bumps already with the new asphalt,” he said.

“But apart from that it’s difficult to choose a tyre right now. I saw just Alex Marquez and Marco Bezzecchi tried the new medium and they were fast, so maybe it's a good tyre. But I have to try tomorrow morning maybe, to understand what to do.”

After only an hour of Practice Bagnaia was reluctant to label any rider as a clear favourite for the Australian Grand Prix.

“I think right now we are all very close and it’s easy to follow a faster rider around here in the slipstream. So I think will be difficult to see someone opening a gap but tomorrow we will see.

“The performance is very balanced by everyone.”