For Francesco Bagnaia, a third MotoGP title has become more distant after the Sepang sprint: the factory Ducati rider crashed while chasing Jorge Martin, who won the race and extended his championship lead to 29th points. He still needs to score nine more than the Italian to take the stakes this season and take the number one plate at Aprilia…
Marc Marquez Gresini-Ducati's rider secured second place, while the Ducati factory rider Enea Bastianini completed the podium in third place. Here's what the top three had to say before Sunday's big race in Malaysia...
Jorge Martin: “ Full concentration »
George Martin (Pramac-Ducati; 1.) : « Thank you Malaysia! It’s been an incredible weekend so far. But today’s race was really difficult. My start was very good, but we started straight away with 1’57 laps. That was a record speed. ‘Pecco’ and Marc were very close. When I saw that ‘Pecco’ had crashed, it was about controlling the lead. ».
« Marc was getting closer, so I really had to ride very precisely and very focused. It was very easy to make a mistake today. It will be very similar tomorrow. Then it will be total concentration again. My thoughts are in Valencia and with the people there. Today there is nothing more to celebrate. Tomorrow is an important day. ».
Martin: "It was very easy to make a mistake today. It will be very similar tomorrow."
Marc Marquez: “ I have to work all the more »
Marc Marquez (Gresini-Ducati; 2.) : « Work, work, work! If you don't have a chance, you have to work that much harder. That's the only way and that's exactly how we did it. The team did a great job. After yesterday's feeling was not very good, we took a step forward today."
"In qualifying, I was riding with settings we had never tried before. But I had a good feeling and they worked really well for the race. I am very happy. Because I don't know what will happen tomorrow, I dedicate this result to the entire Valencian Community. They are going through a very bad time and we support them. ».
Enea Bastianini: “ I had trouble with the front tires »
Enea Bastianini (Ducati; 3.): “ it was a tough race for me because I struggled a lot with the front tire. Every time I wanted to push a little harder, I didn't get any feedback from the tire. Nevertheless, it was enough for the top 3 again. I can be satisfied ».
Jorge Martin MotoGP World Champion already in Malaysia if
– Victory and Bagnaia finishes third or worse
– Second and Bagnaia fifth or worse
– Third and Bagnaia ninth or worse
– Fourth and Bagnaia twelfth or worse
– Fifth and Bagnaia fourteenth or worse
– Sixth and Bagnaia fifteenth or worse
– Seventh and Bagnaia out of the points
MotoGP, Malaysia Sprint: ranking
