Ducati Corse’s Pecco Bagnaia admits he is struggling to understand his costly tumble out of a potential podium position in the Argentina MotoGP as he ceded the championship lead to Marco Bezzecchi at Termas de Rio Hondo.

Arriving in South America for round two of the 2023 MotoGP World Championship as the form man having dominated pre-season testing and completed the double at the Portimao opener, Bagnaia found the going somewhat tougher in Argentina.

Nevertheless, after a modest start to the weekend in practice, Bagnaia qualified on the front row and kept his nose clean during a frenetic Sprint Race en route to sixth and looked on course for a podium in the wet full-length GP encounter having shaken off Alex Marquez in the fight for second.

However, with eight laps to go, Bagnaia lost the front of his Ducati GP23 at the penultimate corner to spin away hopes of a rostrum. While he’d go on to remount, he’d reach the flag just outside the points in 16th.

Apologising to his factory Ducati squad - which suffered its first Sunday no-score since the 2022 opener in Qatar - Bagnaia chose to reflect on the positive of concluding the weekend more competitively than he started it.

I am sorry to my team, we’ll go to Austin and try to understand this mistake.

“It is difficult to understand - we checked the data and I was doing the same, but as soon as I touched the gas I lost the front. 

“We have to see the positivity, I was competitive in all conditions and was fighting for a podium. But anyway, I made a mistake and crashed. It makes me very upset in the moment, because I think we deserved the podium.

“I am sorry to my team, we’ll go to Austin and try to understand this mistake.”

With Bagnaia’s Ducati stablemate and fellow VR46 Academy protege Bezzecchi taking victory to rise to the head of the overall standings, the defending champion now holds second, nine points adrift.