The battle between Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) and Jorge Martín (Prima Pramac Racing) at Sepang was simply extraordinary. For three rounds, the tension and excitement could not have been more palpable. After Pecco Bagnaia’s victory, the final round, decisive for the title, will take place in Barcelona as part of a Solidarity Grand Prix for Valencia. Without further ado, let’s look at the main statements heard this weekend at Sepang.
“We tried to inspire everyone”
Knowing that taking points from Jorge Martin was a priority in Malaysia, Pecco Bagnaia said he gave opportunities to other drivers throughout the weekend to try to put some opponents between himself and the Championship leader. . Ultimately, it didn’t work, but the number 1 intends to repeat it in Barcelona.
“It was fantastic because we fought quite aggressively, but clean because we never touched each other. I knew that after three or four laps, if I was in front and I attacked, I could widen the gap, not only in terms of pace but also in terms of tire temperature. So I was able to set my pace and take off. After that, I just hoped that Enea and Marc would reduce the gap with Jorge, but we know that at the moment, in the Championship, we are making the difference and that gives us the possibility of widening the gap. Even if we slowed down a little, we would have finished seven seconds ahead of third place.”
“It’s something we need to improve for the next race in Barcelona. We tried to give everyone the aspiration over the weekend so that someone would step in while I won both races. We’ll see. In any case, I’m happy with what I did today. It’s a shame about yesterday, because today I hit the same bump as yesterday and I didn’t fall. Sometimes things go wrong, but I’m happy with what we did. Happy with this weekend. Let’s move on to the next race being fully focused and trying to win both battles.”
“In Barcelona, anything can happen”
With 24 points behind before the last Grand Prix, Pecco Bagnaia is well aware of the difficulty of the task that awaits him in Barcelona. However, nothing is impossible.
“Mathematically, it’s still possible. We know it’s very difficult, but in Barcelona, anything can happen. There, I crashed in the Sprint while I was leading by a second. I was trying to avoid mistakes and I crashed the same way, so it will be difficult. Conditions will be more difficult than in June because it will be cold. There are two tricky corners in Barcelona: 2 and 5. It will be important to try to be competitive while remaining calm. I will also need Enea.”
“It was too risky to continue attacking”
After three fascinating laps of the race, Pecco Bagnaia managed to widen the gap and win ahead of Jorge Martín, who was happy to settle for these crucial 20 points on Sunday. The “Martinator” shared his thoughts on what happened in Malaysia.
“I had a lot of fun. Thanks to Pecco, I am improving every day. Every day we get stronger and stronger. I don’t think we’ve ever had such a battle in our career. Of course, we were always close, but we never had a duel with 11 overtakes in three laps. I felt like I was strong enough to do that. I think putting the medium up front was the best choice for me. Maybe it was a bit of a gamble for the first few rounds. It was really difficult to brake, but I’m very happy that I was able to attack Pecco.”
“It was really difficult to overtake someone like him who brakes very hard and can stop the bike very easily, but I managed to do it. I think if I could have taken first position for a full lap it would have changed everything, but towards the end he had incredible pace. For me it was too risky to continue attacking, so I just controlled the gap with the rider behind and tried to hold on until the end.”
“Nothing is done until it is played out mathematically”
Despite an excellent position with one weekend remaining in the campaign, Jorge Martín is keeping a cool head.
“For me, the confidence doesn’t change much, whether it’s for this race or the next one. Certainly I am confident in my work and how I got here. I think it’s a privilege to be here. Fighting with a champion like Pecco is crazy. Of course I’m confident. I’m happy that we took seven more points this weekend. I feel a little closer to the final goal, but nothing is done until it is mathematically decided, so we have to stay very focused. I believe in it until the end.”
“They were simply faster than me”
Marc Márquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) was in the front row to follow the duel between Pecco Bagnaia and Jorge Martín but the Spaniard was never able to get involved. For what ? The reason was quite simple.
“They were simply faster than me. Sometimes you’re behind someone and you say in front of the television: “Why don’t you pass? Why don’t you join the fight?” Today, as much as I tried to join the battle, they were faster than me and it was not possible in terms of speed.”
“Slowing down the race by 10 seconds is impossible”
After the race, Marc Márquez was asked about the potential tactic that Pecco Bagnaia could have played to try to allow his teammate, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team), and others, to join the fight in order to give a bit of a hard time for Jorge Martin. However, with the title contenders simply being on another planet once again this Sunday in Malaysia, it was never possible.
“The problem is that the difference between Pecco, Martín and the others was enormous. Bastianini finished 10 seconds behind Pecco, so slowing down the race by 2 to 3 seconds can be done, but slowing down by 10 seconds is impossible.”
“Oh, b*****, perfect!” »
Fortunately, Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing), Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) were not injured in the spectacular turn 2 incident which caused a red flag. In a post-race interview, Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) said she was worried about Jack Miller as the Honda rider drove over the Australian’s legs while trying to avoid the mayhem. After a stint in the garage of No. 43, the Spaniard was more than relieved to see his opponent standing.
“Honestly, I was very worried, because during the first start, I took off very well and overtook quite a few people. In the first corner, I took the outside, I was behind… around the top 10, so if I could have taken the other corner, I could have been in a very good position. However, I came across the accident with Fabio, Miller and Brad. I ran over Jack, then I saw the ambulance and everything else. I was very worried because I had run over his legs and I didn’t know how he was doing. I was worried about him, but I went to his box and he said to me:
– “No, I’m fine! I’m fine!
– And your leg?
– Yes, I just have a bruise here.
– Oh, f***** perfect!”
But I was worried.”
19 Grands Prix contested, only one left on the list. In solidarity with Valencia, we will ride to Barcelona to find out the name of the 2024 MotoGP™ World Champion.
Related News :