MotoGP championship duo begin Malaysia duel on Friday
Not since those early days of the COVID-19 outbreak as the world grappled with the emerging realities of life to come has the MotoGP World Championship faced such uncertainty. Upon arrival to Malaysia and the Sepang International Circuit this week, the horrors of the deadly flooding in Valencia have cast a sombre shadow over the paddock.
The Malaysian GP represents the last of a second triple-header in the Asia-Pacific region and the sixth race in seven weeks. The paddock is burnt out. The title battle remains nerve-shreddingly tight, with just 17 points splitting Martin from Bagnaia with - officially - two rounds to go. Bagnaia is at a point in his season now that the seven DNFs that have come across the 18 rounds run so far weigh incredibly heavy. One more mistake in a race and it is likely game over for his hopes. Off-track, putting humanity above a championship, Bagnaia cemented himself as a champion befitting of the title.
“We decided to go with a medium rear already in FP1, to start in the Practice to start with a worse situation because I know the consumption of the rear tyre on this track is huge, and it was important to start in a worse situation to have already a drop and try to be competitive the same ,” he explained.
Martin for much of Practice looked like the more comfortable of the title fighters. He also put 14 laps on a medium rear tyre, but started that race run on a fresh one. Therefore, his average pace looks like it blows Bagnaia out of the water. Based on seven laps, Martin is at 1m59.349s pace - which is, at least more representatively, much faster than Bastianini was at 1m59.762s.
If it rattled a cage, Bagnaia didn’t show it. And Martin ending his day in the Turn 1 gravel trap after a crash as he started his final flying lap certainly hands any psychological edge to the reigning world champion.
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