After battling with the likes of Marc Marquez, Pedro Acosta and Jorge Martin early on for the race lead, factory Ducati rider Bagnaia slipped to fifth place at the chequered flag, finishing over seven seconds behind race winner Maverick Vinales.
Not only did Bagnaia lack the pace to stay with Aprilia’s Vinales and second-placed Acosta on the KTM in the second half of the 20-lap contest, he also could not put up a fight to the Ducati GP24s of team-mate Enea Bastianini and Pramac rider Martin, as he lost touch with the lead pack.
The Italian ran with a soft rear tyre at the Circuit of Americas, a choice that helped Bastianini to grab third position on lap 18, having successfully tested the longevity of the compound in the warm-up earlier on Sunday.
But a return of the tyre vibration problem that plagued him in the Qatar sprint and impacted his Portugal weekend meant he had no option but to conserve his position and salvage as many points as possible in Austin.
“My race started well, I was feeling good. I was thinking after lap six that I was able to fight for a win or a podium,” he said.
“But I started to have a lot of chattering, a lot of vibrations on the left side and it was very difficult to manage everything.
“I completely destroyed the tyre on the right side. So, it was also difficult to do corners on the right side.
“So, I raced in defence after seven laps, six laps, and it was very difficult. I tried to manage everything but like this, for sure we have to understand the situation and solve the problems because right now it’s very difficult.
Source: Autosport