Bagnaia's Malaysian Misfortune Yields Insights Beyond Motegi's Triumphs

Sepang, Malaysia – Francesco Bagnaia, the factory Ducati rider, contends that he departed the Malaysian Grand Prix with a clearer understanding of his motorcycle and performance fluctuations, despite a late-race puncture that forced his retirement, a DNF. This, he claims, left him more encouraged than he was after his dominant double victory at Motegi in Japan.

Bagnaia’s weekend at the Sepang International Circuit was a rollercoaster. He began by topping qualifying, securing pole position, and then proceeded to win Saturday’s sprint race. He maintained a consistent third position for a significant portion of the main race on Sunday before a deflating puncture ended his bid for a podium finish just laps before the checkered flag.

The Malaysian Grand Prix result, though ultimately a DNF, marked a notable improvement over the preceding two rounds, where Bagnaia failed to score any points. However, it still fell short of the commanding form he displayed at the Japanese Grand Prix, where he dominated the competition, winning both the sprint and the main race with seeming ease.

The difference, according to Bagnaia, lies in the nature of the successes. While his triumphs in Japan stemmed from a bike that, seemingly out of the blue, performed perfectly to his liking, the progress achieved in Malaysia was the result of concerted effort and incremental improvements made throughout the weekend.

Related News :

The weekend began with Bagnaia facing the unexpected challenge of Q1 on Friday, a consequence of being too slow to venture onto the track following a brief shower. However, a significant overnight adjustment by Bagnaia and his Ducati crew resulted in a surprise pole position. He subsequently led every lap of the sprint race on Saturday and appeared poised for another podium finish on Sunday, only for the puncture to cruelly intervene.

"Even if the points are less than Motegi, I’m leaving here with a more clear idea, right now," Bagnaia stated after the race. He emphasized the importance of the work undertaken throughout the weekend, particularly the recovery from a difficult Friday. "Here we worked [well] starting [the weekend with a] not good Friday. In Motegi, I was super confident that everything was fine, because finally I was feeling super fantastic on my bike, and it was strange because nobody knows why. We are giving some notice to the team and they are working on it to give us the same feeling for next year."

He contrasted this with the situation in Japan, where the bike’s performance seemed to be an anomaly. "Here, I arrived and the feeling was the same as the race in Phillip Island, so good but not ideal. We worked on it and finally we found something that was working a bit better, so we made the pole position, we won the sprint."

Despite the frustrating end to the race, Bagnaia maintained a positive outlook. "Today, we were fighting for the podium, maybe we were fighting for a victory, but surely it’s a positive weekend."

Bagnaia was among a small group of riders who opted for the less-favoured medium front tyre, a decision that was in stark contrast to the soft option favored by race winner Alex Marquez and second-placed Pedro Acosta.

The Ducati rider revealed that he began experiencing a loss of pace due to the puncture as early as lap 12, just before Acosta overtook him for second place. He explained that he had planned to mount a late attack on the leaders before the tyre issue forced him to retire on lap 18.

"I started to lose performance from one lap to another. We saw in the data that I had a puncture in lap 12," he elaborated. "Then I did five more laps and without knowing why I was starting to slide much more, not controlling braking any more; I was going wide many times."

He added that the situation was perplexing because he had been consciously managing his tyres from the start of the race. "It was strange because I was controlling the tyres a lot from the start. I was just doing the race like I did in Barcelona last year with the ’24 [bike], when I let others go and then arrived at the last moment of the race [with more speed]."

His strategy was to conserve his tyres and launch a late attack, similar to his approach in Barcelona the previous year. "I was just trying to do the same, but then Pedro overtook me. I started to struggle a lot more, I wasn’t able to open full throttle till fifth gear and then I needed to stop."

While other riders who ran the medium front tyre felt it had been the incorrect choice, Bagnaia believed it still showed some potential and could have positioned him strongly for the final laps.

"I cannot say [if it was the correct choice or not] because I thought I was managing the tyres well, and even if they were on the edge [and] I was losing it a bit, I was very strong on braking," he stated. "So, I don’t know if I would have arrived in the last part of the race with more potential than the soft. It’s difficult to come to some conclusions."

The DNF in Malaysia has had an impact on Bagnaia’s standing in the rider’s championship. With Marco Bezzecchi, riding for Aprilia, securing five points with an 11th-place finish, Bagnaia has now dropped to fourth place in the overall standings.

Background:

Francesco "Pecco" Bagnaia, born in Turin, Italy, is a rising star in MotoGP. He currently rides for the Ducati Lenovo Team. He began his Grand Prix racing career in 2013 in the Moto3 class, before moving to Moto2 in 2017. His breakthrough season came in 2018 when he won the Moto2 World Championship. He stepped up to MotoGP in 2019 with the Pramac Racing team, also riding a Ducati.

In 2021, Bagnaia joined the factory Ducati team, partnering with Jack Miller. He finished second in the championship that year, losing out to Fabio Quartararo. Bagnaia achieved a historic feat in 2022 by winning the MotoGP World Championship, ending Ducati’s 15-year drought.

Ducati has been a dominant force in MotoGP in recent years. The Italian manufacturer has won the Constructors’ Championship in the last three seasons. Their bike, the Desmosedici GP, is widely considered to be the most competitive machine on the grid.

The Sepang International Circuit, located in Malaysia, has been a regular fixture on the MotoGP calendar. The track is known for its long straights and sweeping corners, presenting a challenge for both riders and machines. The hot and humid conditions in Malaysia often play a significant role in tyre management and rider stamina.

Looking ahead, the MotoGP season continues with upcoming races in Qatar and Valencia. Bagnaia and the Ducati team will be looking to build on the progress made in Malaysia and close the gap in the championship standings. The team will be analyzing the data from the Malaysian Grand Prix to understand the cause of the puncture and prevent similar issues in the future.