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Francesco Bagnaia MotoGP rivals Malaysian Sprint crash referee: “It’s like motocross” | MotoGP

Harry November 2, 2024

Losing second place in the Malaysian MotoGP Sprint has dealt a major final blow to Francesco Bagnaia’s 2024 world title hopes.

The three-time World Champion crashed at turn nine, folding the front mid-corner as his front tire flew out from under him.

Turn nine is a corner that has proven difficult all weekend. Aleix Espargaro crashed there twice on Friday and Augusto Fernandez also crashed there in qualifying.

Marc Marquez, who took second place from Bagnaia when he crashed, said that the difficult conditions at that corner and Bagnaia’s intensity in the first laps may have been factors in the Italian pilot’s accident.

“So turn nine is very critical,” said Marquez, who was right behind Bagnaia as the Italian driver exited the Sepang Sprint.

“How many accidents do we see, this kind of accident at turn nine; I mean, he was pushing, he did what he had to do and tomorrow he needs to take the risk again and try to win the race because that’s his only chance to score points.

“When you are ahead in a championship it is easier to control and manage everything. But (Jorge) Martin is doing a very good job.”

Despite being right behind Bagnaia at the time of the crash, Marquez was unable to offer any analysis as to why the crash occurred.

“Bagnaia needs to explain,” Marquez said. “So, at that braking point, believe me, my eyes were popping out of the helmet every lap because you’re braking so hard and you’ve got enough work to do on your bike to feel what’s going on.”

“I just see you losing the front in the last part. But I don’t know what’s on the bike.”

Martin: Turn nine “really critical all weekend”

Bagnaia’s main title rival Jorge Martin echoed Marquez’s thoughts on the treachery of Turn Nine this weekend, pointing out the uneven surface on the inside of that corner.

“The whole weekend was really critical,” Martin said after the Sprint victory, which put him 29 points ahead of Bagnaia in the drivers’ standings.

“Yesterday I had a few moments in my time attack, today I have a few moments in my time attack. In a perfect line, it’s like you have three different asphalt and at one point there is no asphalt left.

“So it’s like motocross. It’s really hard. You have to be really precise on the line in that corner.

“I haven’t seen the accident yet, so I can’t give my opinion on it. But I also had moments in that corner and sometimes during the race I had to release the brakes to avoid an accident.”

Enea Bastianini: “I lost the front twice in that corner”

Bagnaia’s factory Ducati teammate, Enea Bastianini, was one row behind Marquez when Bagnaia crashed and could also see the crash.

He reiterated that turn nine was tough and gave a clue as to where Bagnaia’s mistake might have come from.

“Turn nine today was very critical,” said Bastianini, “because when you apply the brakes it starts to move a little bit, but when you let go you sometimes lose the front.”

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Francesco Bagnaia MotoGP rivals Malaysian Sprint crash referee: “It’s like motocross” | MotoGP

Harry

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Francesco Bagnaia MotoGP rivals Malaysian Sprint crash referee: “It’s like motocross” | MotoGP

Harry

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