The🏅 power of Ducati’s engineers has been praised for Francesco Bagnaia’s victory in the season-opening Qatar MotoGP.

Reigning champion Bagnaia came out of the sprint race in P4 and bemoaning unexpected issues in his GP24🉐.

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

“He was on the back foot from the s🐻print,” Sylvain Guintoli said on TNT Sports.

“He was going backwards. 🌺Much, mu𓄧ch slower than Aleix Espargaro.

“🤪But they crunched 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, really aggressive, and raceꩵs in a great way.

“He’s very impressive in theꦫ way that he does that. It’s hard to stay composed and not make any mistakes.”

Michael Laverty said: “I༺t was peerlꦦess. No-one could touch him from lights out.

“There was one overtake at Turn 4 but, then, he got his he🌳ad down and had such good rhythm.

“There was definitely an advantage out in front because yo🥀ur tyres sta🌠y 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 s🏅olving the problems, the puzzlဣe, for the Sunday race. Once again.

“He was struggling this weeke💟nd. Okay, in winter testing ꧋he was above everybody.

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

“H🎐ere he is, with the same tyres, solving problems and making it work over a race distance.🦄 This is why he’s the double world champion.”

KTM’s Brad Binder edg🔯ed Pramac Ducati’s Jorge Martin to finish second behind Bagꦦnaia in Qatar.

“They did cost each💙 other a few tenths of a second,” Laverty said about Binder and Martin.

“They took a wide line, ju🍃st gett๊ing it back to the apex.

“They were both aggressive and w🎐anted to be the guy to take the fight to Pecco but I still think the perfection of Pecco… it seemed likꦕe Pecco had everyone’s number.

“He had more left if he needed to respond.

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

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

Martin won Saturday’s sprint but experienced chatte💃r problems throughout the first round of 2024.

“He was really worried, you could tel🌺l by his interviews and his attitude,” Guintol🍸i said.

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

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