- 2024-11-03
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SPORTS
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MotoGP Malaysian GP: Francesco Bagnaia Takes Pole Position, Jorge Martin Wins Sprint Race at Sepang
The Round 19 of MotoGP 2024, PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia took place at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit in Sepang on November 2, 2024.
In Qualifying, Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo) took fifth pole position of the season with a new lap record 1'56.337sec.
Jorge Martin (Pramac Ducati) was 2nd behind Francesco Bagnaia by 0.216s. Alex Marquez (Gresini Ducati) completed the front row in 3rd.
Franco Morbidelli (Pramac Ducati) was 4th, which is his best result of 2024. Alongside him, Marc Marquez (Gresini Ducati) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo) will start on the second row in 5th and 6th, respectively.
Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM) was 7th ahead of Yamaha pair, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Yamaha) and Alex Rins (Monster Yamaha).
Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM) and Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) advanced to Q2 from Q1 and finished in 10th and 11th.
Francesco Bagnaia said, “It's incredible what we did today, because already the lap time of Jorge was incredible. Being able to drop this lap time was super important also for the mental side. I know how difficult it is when you are doing your maximum and your opponent is still faster, so it was very important. I'm very proud of my team because we did a very good job, super happy.”- In the Sprint Race, Jorge Martin took the lead over pole sitter Francesco Bagnaia at the first corner, led the race until the finish, and claimed his 7th victory of the season.
Francesco Bagnaia ran behind Jorge Martin, but crashed out on lap 3. This marks, Jorge Martin expanded the championship lead over Francesco Bagnaia to 29 points. If Jorge Martin can stretch his advantage over Francesco Bagnaia by a further 9 points on Sunday's race, he will clinch the World Champion.
Marc Marquez finished in 2nd place, and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo) was 3rd.
Alex Marquez was 4th by 5 seconds behind the leading trio. Fabio Quartararo finished in 5th ahead of ex-teammate Franco Morbidelli.
The KTMs of Brad Binder, Jack Miller and Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) completed the top nine.
After the Sprint Race, MotoGP announced the final round of 2024, Valencia GP would be canceled due to flooding affected the area.
A new venue and dates will be announced as soon as confirmed. - Jorge Martin said, “If I hadn't taken first position straight away today, I wouldn't have won. I think Pecco would have won and I would have been second. So to start well is really important. Nowadays, either you are like Enea [Bastianini] who can come from behind, or it's impossible to win if you're not in first position at the beginning. It's been a really critical corner all weekend. You have like three different asphalts on the perfect line. And at one point, there's no asphalt! So it's like motocross; super difficult. You need to ride a really precise line at that corner. I had a few moments there in my time attack yesterday and also today. And sometimes I had to [back off] there during the race too in order not to crash. After Pecco's crash, it was difficult to manage the situation. But I was able to do it well. You do have to think about the fact that Pecco has crashed. You think 'be careful, you need to finish'. At one point I even thought I might have to [let Marc past] and finish second. But I had a lead of eight-tenths, so it made no sense to wait for him. So I said 'okay, let's keep doing the thing you know how to do'. I was really focused on my braking references, just trying to do everything the same without changing anything. When I try to relax, I get more nervous and everything gets more difficult. Today I was a bit nervous in the morning, so I said to Gino [Borsoi, his team manager], 'Gino, I will go for it.' I don't want to finish second or third, I want to go for it. If Pecco is stronger, he will win. And if he's not, he won't'. Tomorrow will be a bit more of the same. If Pecco is much stronger, it's okay. But I will do my best, because it's the only way I can really be at 100% and focused. It's a privilege to have this advantage at this point. But it's not over until it's over. Tomorrow will be a really long race and Pecco will risk a lot to win. He has nothing to lose now - it's all or nothing. To beat him under those conditions is really tough. We are a step in front of the others, so I think in the worst case I will try to finish second.”
PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia Qualifying Results- Francesco Bagnaia / Ducati Lenovo / 1'56.337s
- Jorge Martin / Pramac Ducati / +0.216s
- Alex Marquez / Gresini Ducati / +0.938s
- Franco Morbidelli / Pramac Ducati / +0.942s
- Marc Marquez / Gresini Ducati / +0.964s
- Enea Bastianini / Ducati Lenovo / +1.029s
- Jack Miller / Red Bull KTM / +1.221s
- Fabio Quartararo / Monster Yamaha / +1.255s
- Alex Rins / Monster Yamaha / +1.389s
- Brad Binder / Red Bull KTM / +1.545s
- Johann Zarco / LCR Honda / +1.634s
- Maverick Viñales / Aprilia Racing / +1.709s
- Pedro Acosta / Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 / 1'57.839s
- Marco Bezzecchi / VR46 Ducati / 1'57.869s
- Raul Fernandez / Trackhouse Aprilia / 1'58.023s
- Aleix Espargaro / Aprilia Racing / 1'58.107s
- Andrea Iannone / VR46 Ducati / 1'58.183s
- Takaaki Nakagami / LCR Honda / 1'58.3s
- Luca Marini / Repsol Honda / 1'58.52s
- Joan Mir / Repsol Honda / 1'58.618s
- Augusto Fernandez / Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 / 1'59.006s
- Lorenzo Savadori / Trackhouse Aprilia / 1'59.263s
PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia Sprint Race Results- Jorge Martin / Pramac Ducati / 19m 49.23s
- Marc Marquez / Gresini Ducati / +0.913s
- Enea Bastianini / Ducati Lenovo / +2.010s
- Alex Marquez / Gresini Ducati / +6.575s
- Fabio Quartararo / Monster Yamaha / +7.917s
- Franco Morbidelli / Pramac Ducati / +8.957s
- Brad Binder / Red Bull KTM / +11.015s
- Jack Miller / Red Bull KTM / +11.834s
- Pedro Acosta / Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 / +12.091s
- Marco Bezzecchi / VR46 Ducati / +12.840s
- Alex Rins / Monster Yamaha / +14.901s
- Aleix Espargaro / Aprilia Racing / +15.224s
- Augusto Fernandez / Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 / +17.115s
- Maverick Viñales / Aprilia Racing / +18.603s
- Luca Marini / Repsol Honda / +19.090s
- Joan Mir / Repsol Honda / +20.204s
- Takaaki Nakagami / LCR Honda / +21.711s
- Raul Fernandez / Trackhouse Aprilia / +23.814s
- Andrea Iannone / VR46 Ducati / +25.898s
- Lorenzo Savadori / Trackhouse Aprilia / +29.778s
Photo by MotoGP - source : MotoGP
