Pecco Bagnaia admits he is rattled after throwing away victory in the MotoGP Grand Prix of The Americas full length feature race, his second such accident from a strong position in consecutive events.

The Italian looked on course to collect his second win of the weekend at the Austin after turning pole position into a comfortable lead during the early stages.

However, just as he was coming under renewed pressure from an inspired Alex Rins, Bagnaia lost the front of his Ducati as he dipped into turn two on lap eight.

Though faster, the crash was reminiscent of his tip off in the wet last time out at Termas de Rio Hondo while Bagnaia was running a safe second.

The DNF came on what was shaping up to be an almost perfect weekend from the defending champion in the USA, Bagnaia smashing the lap record in qualifying before easing to a clear victory in the Sprint Race on Saturday, his third of the year.

It's outcome that left him baffled in the immediate aftermath, though he rejected the notion that he played a part in the fall, saying he is '100% sure' he didn't make a mistake.

“For the second week in a row, I don’t know… I am quite angry, disappointed… [but] not with myself,” he told BT Sport. “I am 100% sure it wasn’t my fault. We have to understand it, we don’t know why it is happening, why I did many many laps this weekend without losing the front or having any issues.”

Bagnaia loses ground to Bezzecchi in MotoGP standings

Bagnaia's three wins (two Sprint, one feature), plus the varying fortunes of his closest rivals, means the damage to Bagnaia’s title aspirations remains relatively minor, with only Marco Bezzecchi sitting ahead of him in the standings with a margin of 11 points. Despite this, Bagnaia can’t ignore the hefty loss of points.

“That’s 45 points gone in the last two weeks. It’s useless, we have to understand it," he continued in an interview with MotoGP.com

“I don’t know what happened, like in Argentina, we were working so well all weekend. I didn’t have any advice [indication] of losing the front or any movement all weekend, then today in the race it was going normally. 

“I was going fast but I was in control, I wasn’t doing anything stupid, and I crashed the same. We have to understand it, I hope my team can help me with that. I will prepare for the next race like always and go there to fight again.”

More pressingly, Bagnaia is concerned it is another front-end related crash occurring without warning.

“It worries me, because if we don’t know why you’re crashing, it’s not helping. Our bike is the best, I am 100% sure that our bike is the best, but if you crash and you don’t know why…”

In Bagnaia’s defence, he wasn’t the only rider to wilt in the Texan heat with ten riders crashing in the main MotoGP feature, nine of which would be forced to retire.

CLICK HERE for 2023 MotoGP World Championship standings after Grand Prix of The Americas, Round 3 of 21