The offered us for three rounds the pinnacle of talent in MotoGPwith Last the clash on the razor's edge between Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin during the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, Enea Bastianini's race took a back seat, but while trying to follow the two contenders for the MotoGP world title, Marc Marquez suddenly reduced the lead he had over the rider to just one point. driver from Rimini for the third step on the final podium.
It is therefore more than ever a goal for the two men, who will only have the weekend in Barcelona to decide between them. In these conditions, help Francesco Bagnaia defending his title does not seem at all the priority for “Bestia” who will ride under the Tech3 colors from the following Tuesday…
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.
Enea, well done, a third place! It wasn't an easy weekend, quite a difficult weekend, but you come away with a podium in the Sprint and a podium today in the Grand Prix. What is your assessment of how your 20 laps went this afternoon?
Enea Bastianini : “Yes, this afternoon was more or less like yesterday, with the same problem. And also, the first start was good for me, I was in third place, while in the second I was in fifth place, and it was very complicated to be close to these guys. But hey, when I was alone to overtake Frankie, I was a little slow and my feelings weren't the best, and I preferred to stay calm. And then Marquez crashed and gave me the podium, but we came here with a different goal, to try to win the race, and that didn't happen. But hey, we have to stay focused and fight in the last race. Pecco explained that the corners are very critical in Barcelona, so we have to be careful, but fast. »
There is still a lot to do for this last Grand Prix of the season, Enea, with Marc for 3rd place in the World Championship. But Pecco just asked you if you could help him for this last Grand Prix. If you can, will you try to help Pecco at Barcelona?
“Yes, I think I can help Pecco, and Pecco, if he wants, can help me too. If this is the case for both, we will see, but it also depends on the starting grid, it depends on the weekend. Jorge did a good job during this weekend, he is a very competitive driver, Pecco too, today he did a fantastic job but I think that 24 points for him will not be easy to catch up, because Jorge has to make a big mistake, and I think, to be honest, it will be difficult. It's probably easier for me because I only have to win one point to close the gap. »
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 ?
“For my part, I think last year was as hot for me as today, because I hadn't trained much before arriving here and it was complicated like today. But today it was very hot, and with the tires it was difficult to be much faster than today. Pecco was very fast, but Michelin changed the middle of the tire a little bit and it was a lot harder, a different compound, and that for me is the real reason. »
Results from the 2024 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang:
Rankings credit: MotoGP.com
MotoGP Sepang Bastianini
Related News :