Francesco ‘Pecco’ Bagnaia took a dominant victory at Sepang International Circuit at the Shell Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix, after getting away well from a front row start and fighting it out in the front group from lights out. When four others crashed out at Turn 7, Bagnaia saw his chance to make the break and escape in the lead - and then watched the gap to those behind go up and up on his pitboard. The race became a conquered exercise in concentration and focus, as the Italian crossed the line clear for an impressive second victory of the season.
After his first career win in Assen at the Dutch TT, the Italian had also made a bet with the Aspar team – that if he were to take another victory in 2016 ahead of his move to Moto2™, he would get a test ride on the squad’s MotoGP™ bike. Following his incredible performance in Malaysia, Pecco is now set to do just that - getting the chance at the post-race test in Valencia after the season finale.
Francesco Bagnaia (P1): “I think that was the best race of my life. It is never easy to ride at the front on your own. You have to learn where the limit is and try to stay as fast as possible. I think I have matured because last year I would have struggled to make a race like this, so we have taken a big step forward and I have to thank the team a lot. This has probably been our best weekend of the season, at the end of a year that has turned out to be very positive. It was much hotter for the race here than it has been for the rest of the weekend and at the start I found it tough but I got used to it. Once I saw my rivals crashed out I decided to push hard to make a break, which then allowed me to calm down. The tyres started to drop and in the corner where those guys crashed there was a little oil so I had to be careful not to crash myself. Now I am up to third in the championship, which is important as we look to Valencia. This was the most difficult race of my life but now we have two wins and six podiums from this season. Now we can think about Valencia, where thanks to a bet I made with the team for winning two races I'll also get to ride the Ducati.”