Pecco Bagnaia after yet another disaster: “I couldn’t open the throttle on a single lap!”

Francesco Bagnaia had described the MotoGP event in Sepang in the run-up as a “good opportunity to have some fun again”. The Ducati factory rider has always performed strongly on the Malaysian circuit in the past, and on Saturday he finished sixth in the sprint race after starting from tenth on the grid.

Sunday’s Grand Prix ended with the Italian finishing 13th, whilst his Ducati-Lenovo team-mate Marc Marquez took a big step towards the world championship title with a victory. This came as no surprise to ‘Pecco’: ‘The Grand Prix went exactly as I expected – no better and no worse. On Saturday in the sprint race, we were lucky that it started to rain.” In Sunday’s race, the weather conditions were more predictable for everyone. Keeping rear tyre wear within limits was essential, according to Gigi Dall’Igna in a team statement. This is what his rider, number 63, had to say: “Right from the start, I tried to manage the tyre’s performance, but after five laps my rear tyre was done for. I had to focus on just being able to finish the race at all.”

Bagnaia: “I couldn’t really open the throttle on any lap”

It came as a shock to the two-time MotoGP World Champion: “I couldn’t really open the throttle on any lap. My final lap was a 2:05.1. That’s unbelievable to me, because I know what I’m actually capable of on this circuit.” Last year, Bagnaia won the sprint race in Malaysia. He says his motorbike is the key difference for the 29-year-old compared to last year. Bagnaia’s goal for the rest of the current season is set accordingly low: “Just survive!”

Next week, the action continues with the Qatar Grand Prix. As things stand, the event will take place in the Doha desert, though not with all teams and riders. Yamaha announced on Sunday, shortly after the MotoGP race in Sepang, that it would be skipping the Qatar Grand Prix due to the uncertain situation in the Middle East. For the rest, it will be a normal race weekend. “It’ll be as if everything is normal. We’ll put on a big smile and ride,” said Bagnaia. Meanwhile, the riders have received safety assurances from the organisers. Bagnaia: “We’ve got almost everything we asked for. There are still a few things outstanding, but we’ll never get those.”

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06.11.2026 - 10:55