Bagnaia (6th) benefited from the capricious tropical weather – and remains grumpy

At the start of the 2026 Malaysian Grand Prix, Ducati factory rider Pecco Bagnaia had to take a deep breath on several occasions. In qualifying, Bagnaia had failed to make it through to the second qualifying session at one of his favourite circuits (12 months ago, Bagnaia claimed victory in the Sprint race at Sepang).

Although Bagnaia made up ground on Saturday morning and managed to qualify in tenth place for the two races at Sepang, but the fact that the Italian, in autumn 2026, clocked a time of 1:57.2 minutes – just under a second slower than his lap record set in October 2024 – said it all about the downward trend for the 2022 and 2023 champion.

The fact that Bagnaia was flagged off in sixth place after ten laps did nothing to allay the Turin-born rider’s lingering frustration. Bagnaia after the Sepang Sprint: “In the end, I benefited particularly from the rain setting in. My rear tyre was done by the third lap. At that point, I was running fifth, right behind Bezzecchi – then I had to ease off. The fact that I didn’t drop any further back was down to the weather. The pace dropped and I was able to control the course of the sprint better.”

My starts go particularly well here in Sepang

Pecco Bagnaia

And how did Bagnaia manage to get into the top five so quickly from 10th on the grid? “I usually get off to a good start – and here in particular. It could also have something to do with the conditions and the high humidity – the Ducati’s clutch works better in this heat than in cooler air. On top of that, I was also very strong on the brakes going into Turn 1.”

Topic of the week

Soon-to-be world champion Kimi Antonelli: The inevitable will then follow in Mexico

The 20-year-old Italian Kimi Antonelli had the chance to secure the 2026 World Championship title at the US Grand Prix. He did everything right: victory in Texas. The title celebrations have nevertheless been postponed. Until Mexico.

Mathias Brunner

Read More

TV Program

Tomorrow

Sepang: International Livestream

MotoGP World Championship

01.11.2026 - 03:35

But that was about it as far as the highlights were concerned from the Lenovo rider’s perspective. “The thing is, at times I don’t recognise myself on this track. I know what I’m capable of, and it remains frustrating. Six or eight months ago, I had a different experience here. Now I can’t do that anymore – how can I be happy with that? All I can do now is work with the team to figure out what else we can try. Because on Sunday the race is twice as long – and there’s unlikely to be any rain.”

Even the fact that Bagnaia made up points on the crashed Alex Márquez and the injured Raúl Fernández failed to significantly lift the spirits of the rider currently ninth in the World Championship.