Octo Pramac Yakhnich duo Danilo Petrucci and Scott Redding had somewhat constrasting Malaysian GPs, but both came home within the points in a weekend that saw weather wreak havoc for the paddock.
Petrucci came home in P10 for his third consecutive top ten result over the flyaways, but nevertheless struggled throughout to feel comfortable on the bike despite previous podium form in the wet. Pushing as best he could in the torrential conditions, especially at the start of the race, the Italian was happy to avoid a crash as some of those initially further ahead on track fell victim to the weather.
Danilo Petrucci (P10): “It was very tough, especially in the first few laps. I suffered a lot on the straights because there were large clouds of spray and it was almost impossible to see anything. I had little confidence in the front and I couldn’t brake properly. It was hard, but in the end I made it into the Top 10, also because some of the riders in front crashed. I brought home points and that was important because it was so difficult to avoid a crash. I'm glad I didn’t crash, but I wanted to do much better.”
Scott Redding also had a tough time in the Malaysian rain, as the Brit suffered with rear grip. Traditionally a frontrunner in the wet, Redding couldn’t find the feeling at Sepang to make waves in the top ten, but still scored points in P15.
Scott Redding (P15): “It was a very difficult race because I had no rear grip. I never found the feeling with the rear tire but I must admit that others who went out with the hard were still competitive. It was hard since the start. I also risked crashing on warm up lap. I tried to push but I was never able to find the rhythm in order to recover into the Top 10. I hoped it would be a dry race because over the weekend we had a good feeling in the dry - to be honest I didn’t expect to struggle so much.”