The Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang offered us for three laps the pinnacle of talent in MotoGPwith the razor's edge clash between Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin.
Having little left to lose with 29 points behind before the Grand Prix, the Italian did not give up in the face of the Spaniard's incessant attacks, and in the end he reduced his deficit to 24 points, winning his tenth victory this season. This will probably not be enough to bring him a third world title, but what a beautiful and intense battle it was, between these two great champions at the top of their art!
As usualwe report here his words during his debriefing, without the slightest formatting, even if it is translated from English.
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the post-race press conference following an exciting Petronas Malaysia Grand Prix at the Sepang International Circuit. Once again, it is Ducati GP24s which lock the first three places. Your 10th time Sunday Grand Prix winner in 2024, reigning world champion, Ducati Lenovo Team rider Pecco Bagnaia, Pecco is only the 4th rider in the MotoGP era to win 10 Grand Prix in a single season. Prima Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin is in second place and leads the world championship with 24 points with one round remaining. Ducati Lenovo Team rider Enea Bastianini completes today's podium, just as he did yesterday during the Tissot Sprint. Gentlemen, well done to all three! Conditions were very difficult today.
Pecco, we're going to start the press conference with you because it was an incredible show in the first 3 or 4 rounds, and an incredible fight that you had with Jorge Martin. You said yesterday that this was a race you had to win, and you won it. How important is this win for the championship, obviously, and tell us about that incredible fight with Jorge at the start…
Francesco Bagnaia: “It was fantastic, because we fought hard, it was quite aggressive, but clean, because we never touched each other, and I knew after 3-4 laps if I was in front and I was pushing, I was able to open this gap, not only with the pace, but also thanks to the temperature of the tire. But we know that at the moment, in the championship, we are making the difference, and that gives us the potential to widen the gap, and even if we slow down a little, we finish at the same distance, 7 seconds ahead of third. So this is something we need to improve for the next race in Barcelona, and we will try to give everyone the aspiration during the weekend, so that someone is in the middle. And I will have to win both races, so we'll see, but in any case I'm happy for today, and it's a shame for yesterday because I hit the same bump as yesterday today and I don't I didn't fall. So sometimes things go wrong, but we are happy for what we did, happy for the weekend, and move on to the next race, fully concentrating on trying to win both races. »
Obviously you had a lot to lose if you didn't finish this Grand Prix today, you were going to lose the world championship. I mean, what risk did you take by fighting with Jorge and opening up the gap at the front? Because it seemed like you were in control of the situation, but I'm sure there were a lot of risks taken up front…
“I knew my pace was good enough to attack, but I was thinking the same thing yesterday and it didn't go as well, so I just tried to respond to each attack in the best way possible. And the one I didn't expect happened in turn 5, when he resisted from the outside, but other than that I was just trying to brake as hard as possible to open up the gap and it was enough. But today, Jorge did a fantastic job again, and with 3-4 laps to go, he was in the hunt again. It's very hard, but it shows that the level, our level, at the moment, is incredible. »
Pecco, still fighting to win this third consecutive world championship. It will be difficult to recover these 24 points, but you are still in the race, so there is always a chance to retain the title…
“Yes, mathematically, it’s still possible. We know it's quite difficult, but in Barcelona anything can happen, like my crash in the sprint race when I was riding with a second lead trying to avoid any mistakes, and I crashed the same way . The conditions will be more difficult than in June, because it will be colder, and two corners in Barcelona are quite tricky: they are turn 2 and turn 5. So it will be important to try to be competitive, but we can, and I need Enea too (laughs). »
Pecco, why do you still use the old, shorter front fork? Do you think that was a factor in the fall, or not?
“No, it’s more in terms of sensations. And at the time of the fall, the front end wasn't heeling, so that's not the case. I use it because I prefer to feel the stopper and with the longer one it's harder to feel it. In changes of direction I feel more agility with the shorter one, so I still prefer it. I just want to do Qatar with the longest, but Qatar is different from all the other circuits, and Austin is where I use the shortest. »
How do you manage, despite the pressure of the fight for the title, to maintain a peaceful relationship? I mean from the outside it looks peaceful. I don't know if that's really the case…
“For me it's very easy, because I'm not the type of guy who wants to be brutal off the track, then needs to be brutal on the track, or be aggressive pushing the others, to be the one who does not respect his rivals. I've never been like that and I never will be. If Jorge started doing it, I would change, but Jorge is more or less the same as me. So respect is definitely the most important thing and it will always be that way, from my point of view. So I don't understand why we should be enemies off the track and not talk to each other, or be rude, and so I prefer that. »
Was there a moment before the race when you considered a strategy where you might have slowed the pace to try to bring Marc and Enea into the battle to take points from Jorge?
” No. I'm a healthy guy, a real sportsman, so I don't like that kind of thing. »
I think you are the sixth rider in history to have won 10 or more races in a season in the MotoGP category. This is an astonishing feat. How do you feel about being there with drivers like Agostini, Doohan, Marc and Valentino Rossi too?
“I feel very good and very proud, but I think I have a record: that of winning 10 races in a single season without being the championship leader, so that’s a good record too (laughs). »
Did the red flag make a difference in your race or do you think the first few laps would have gone about the same, depending on where you were and how you started ?
“It was the same thing. I was just hoping to see fewer rounds than just removing one. But no, because the position was already the same, so for me the strategy was the same. »
At all circuits so far, we have seen a big difference in total race times with the new Michelin tires, compared to last year. This is the only circuit where, if we add the two minutes you spent in the last laps, the total time is higher than that of Enea last year. For what ?
“The temperature, the temperature!” During the test we had problems with the central part of the tire because with the softer compound we already had blister after 10 laps. So they changed the tire a little bit, they put another compound in the center of the tire, and those two things, the temperature, the conditions, and also this tire, meant that the pace wasn't as fast. »
To be continued tomorrow…
2024 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix Results at Sepang:
Rankings credit: MotoGP.com
MotoGP Malaysia Francesco Bagnaia
MotoGP Malaysia Francesco Bagnaia
MotoGP Malaysia Francesco Bagnaia
MotoGP Malaysia Francesco Bagnaia
