Pecco Bagnaia calls Sepang MotoGP sector deficit “ridiculous” after missing Q2
Pecco Bagnaia heads for Saturday's Qualifying 1 despite matching the fastest riders in Sepang's opening and final sectors in Friday MotoGP practice.
Pecco Bagnaia was quicker than factory Ducati team-mate Marc Marquez in terms of combined best sector times for the start (T1) and finish (T4) of the Sepang lap, during Friday practice for the Malaysian MotoGP.
Both sectors feature a long straight and heavy braking zone, for Turn 1 and the final hairpin, respectively.
Bagnaia was only 0.035s slower than KTM's Pedro Acosta in T1 and 0.069s faster than Marquez, who was ranked fifth best. Bagnaia was then third in T4, 0.060s behind Marquez, with Joan Mir in between.
But unfortunately for the Italian's Qualifying 2 hopes, he was losing around 0.8s through the twisty middle sectors of T2 and T3.
That meant while Marquez completed a Friday practice double at the top of the timesheets, last year's pole and Sprint winner Bagnaia was just 12th and will need to take part in Saturday's Qualifying 1.
“My bike works only when it's straight. So I did the maximum, in the first and last sectors I'm in the top three. In the other two sectors, I lose eight tenths. So it's ridiculous,” GPone.com quotes Bagnaia as saying.
In the Ducati press release, the double MotoGP champion explained that he's losing the front in the high-speed corners.
“We made the decision to start with the same bike configuration as in winter testing, and I certainly had different expectations in terms of performance,” Bagnaia said.
“I mainly struggle in the faster, more flowing sections, namely T2 and T3, while in the first and fourth sectors, where there are heavier braking areas, I'm among the quickest riders.
“It's really difficult to carry corner speed right now because the front tucks and I end up running wide.
“The lack of grip doesn't help either. We must keep working to regain the right feeling with the bike and the track, where I've always been strong.”
Bagnaia also missed out on direct Qualifying 2 access a year ago, but still went on to take pole position and win the Sprint, before a puncture ended his Grand Prix hopes.
Peter has been in the paddock for 20 years and has seen Valentino Rossi come and go. He is at the forefront of the Suzuki exit story and Marc Marquez’s injury issues.
