The power of Ducati’s enginee🐎rs has been praised for Francesco Bagnaia’s victory in the season-openinꦚg Qatar MotoGP.

Reigning champion Bagnaia came out of the spri🐻nt race in P4 and𒁃 bemoaning unexpected issues in his GP24.

But🅷 overnight his bike was set up in an alternate way which allowed him to cruise through the longer race to lay 💧down an early marker for the title.

ღ“He was on the back foot from☂ the sprint,” Sylvain Guintoli said on TNT Sports.

“He ⛦was goingꦓ backwards. Much, much slower than Aleix Espargaro.

“But they c🍸runched the 🧔data and they came out fighting on Sunday.

“You’ve got to hand it to Bagnaia, when the pressure is on, he manages the start, a great first lap, 𒉰really aggressive, and races in a great way.

“He’s very impressive in the way that he does that. It’s hard to stay co💧mposed and not make any mistakes.”

Michael Laverty said: “It was peerless. No-one couꦏld ᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚtouch him from lights out.

“There🍒 was one overtake at Turn 4 but, then, he got his head dow𝓡n and had such good rhythm.

“There was definitely an advantage out in front because your tyres stay in the optimum window in terms of surface temperature and💖 pressure.

“He didn’t put a foot wrong. 🌜So smooth. It was a really special performance.”

Guintoli credited Bagnaia’s team: “It’s just amazing to see the Ducati factory team solving tꦡhe problems, the puzzle, for the Sunday race. Once again.

“He was struggling this w🌱eekend. Okay, in winter testing he was above everybo🎃dy.

“But until Saturday night he was really struggling, he💞 had no grip whatsoever at the end of the sprint race.

“Here he is, with the same tyres, so🍬lving problems and making it work over a race distance. This is why he’s the double world champion.”

KTM’s Brad Binder edged P♔ramac Ducati’😼s Jorge Martin to finish second behind Bagnaia in Qatar.

🔴“They did cost each other a few t🎶enths of a second,” Laverty said about Binder and Martin.

“They took a𒈔 wide line, just getting i🉐t back to the apex.

“They were both aggressive and wanted to be the guy to takꦫe the fight to Pecco but I still think the perfection of Pecco… it seemed ಌlike Pecco had everyone’s number.

“He had more left if he needed to respond.

“Brad is a figh𓆏ter, he’ll never give up. Martin is a fighter, likewise. But they sometimes need to settle in a race to get their rhythm.”

Guintoli added: “It was an arm wrestling match. They did lose time, and lost contact w𝕴ith Pecco because of that fight. They wanted to be behind Pecco.”

Martin won Saturday’s sprint but experienced chatter problems throughout꧑ the first round of 2024.

“He was really worried, you could tell by his interviews and his attitude,𒁃” Guiᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ⁤⁤⁤⁤ᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚntoli said.

“In the interview with Gino Borsoi on the grid, he was very pessimistic about a long race because they 🌌had chattering problems [in the sprint] and since the te𒐪st.

“They have carried this problem without the solut🔯ion. He will be really happy with the result after the doubt that he had, even though he won🅷 the sprint.”