Francesco “Pecco” Bagnaia (Ducati) won, on Sunday October 23, on the Sepang circuit, in Malaysia, his 7e victory of the season, the 11e of her career. To win his first crown in MotoGP, the premier category of speed motorcycling, the Italian rider will however have to wait until the last Grand Prix of the season, in Valencia, on November 6. He will only need to score two points to validate his title, whatever the result of his rival Fabio Quartararo.
Author of a good race, but without ever having been able to get involved in the fight for victory, the Frenchman could not do better than third. It limits the damage, of course, but it is now 23 points behind the Turinese in the world championship standings. A victory earning 25 points, he can still hope mathematically to retain his title of world champion, but this will most likely require that Bagnaia does not finish the last race. As for the Spaniard Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) and the Italian Enea Bastianini (Gresini Ducati), they can no longer be titled.
“I gave my all, I’m proud of myself. It had been a long time since I had made a podium. We had a good race. Even though I don’t have many chances left, the title hasn’t been awarded in Malaysia.”said a visibly satisfied Fabio Quartararo after the race.
For Francesco Bagnaia, the relief was visible after a weekend under high tension: “I got off to the best start of my life.. I took risks. We did a great job for the championship. We can be happy today”, he summed up with a big smile. The Turinese has won five of the last nine races, a feat no driver has achieved since Australian Casey Stoner in 2007.
Cannon start
Starting from ninth position on the grid, Bagnaia got off to a flying start to take 2e place in the first round. He then took advantage of the fall of the Spaniard Jorge Martin (Ducati Pramac), author of the pole position, to take the lead. Neck and neck with his compatriot Enea Bastianini for most of the race, Bagnaia ended up overtaking him definitively with six laps remaining. Even if Bastianini is one of the eight riders benefiting from the Ducati engine and he will be Bagnaia’s teammate next season in the Ducati factory team, there does not seem to have been an agreement between the two Italians, who are faced on a regular basis.
Started even further than Bagnaia on the grid (12e), Fabio Quartararo also made a successful start, reaching the 7e position after the first round. Fighting with Marco Bezzecchi (Ducati VR46) throughout the race, the Niçois had to wait for the last laps to get closer to the leading duo, without being able to hope for better.
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