“It’s incredible what we did today”
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| Francesco Bagnaia, Jorge Martin, qualifying, 2024 Malaysian MotoGP |
MotoGP title rivals Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin spectacularly slugged it out for pole position at the Malaysian Grand Prix.
Both smashed the Sepang lap record as they surged almost one second clear of the field.
Martin landed what looked like a knockout blow with a new official lap record on his first run, pitting with a half-second advantage over Bagnaia.
But with the pressure on, practice leader Bagnaia responded magnificently on his final run, beating Martin's record time by 0.216s!
Delight in the factory Ducati pits was matched by shock in the Pramac garage, but Martin rolled up his sleeves and was equal to Bagnaia through the opening sectors…
However, the title leader was forced to lift his GP24 when the front slid away at Turn 14, ending an epic pole contest.
“It’s incredible what we did today because already the lap time of Jorge was incredible,” said Bagnaia, before underlining the psychological importance of defeating Martin in qualifying.
“Being able to drop this lap time was also super important for the mental side because I know how difficult it is when you are doing your maximum and your opponent is faster.
“So it was very important and I’m very proud of my team because we did a very good again. Super happy.”
Martin, who starts this afternoon’s Sprint race 17 points ahead of Bagnaia, admitted:
“For sure I thought [my first lap] was enough, but Pecco was incredible today.
“It is what it is. I tried my best. I think the first row was the target so I’m happy.
“The race will be tough, both of us have a really good pace so it will be important to understand where to be stronger.”
Martin can wrap up the title one round early if he holds a 38-point lead on Sunday evening.
A maximum of 12 points are available in the Sprint and 25 in the Grand Prix this weekend.
Meanwhile, Alex Marquez was a commendable, if distant, third on the grid.
“I closed my eyes and pushed in every corner at the limit!” he smiled. “I tried my best and I love this place. We made a really good lap, also in FP2 we were not bad for race pace.”
The Gresini rider paid tribute to the ‘magnificent’ performance of the duo ahead as he ruled out repeating last year’s Sprint victory.
“Looking forward to the race but we are not like last year, we don’t have the chance to win because these two are super magnificent," Marquez said.
“When you are fighting for the title you have like another step more [mentally]. So congrats to Pecco and Martin.
“But we are happy to be here after some difficult races.”
Martin’s team-mate Franco Morbidelli, Alex’s team-mate Marc Marquez and Bagnaia’s team-mate Enea Bastianini (who fell) will form row two of the grid.
KTM's Jack Miller was the top non-Ducati rider in seventh followed by the Yamahas of Fabio Quartararo and Alex Rins, who are enjoying their most competitive team performance of the season.
Brad Binder (KTM), Johann Zarco (LCR Honda) and Maverick Vinales (Aprilia) completed the Qualifying 2 riders.
Zarco turned heads by leaping to the top of Qualifying 1 on his final lap, pushing Pedro Acosta out of Qualifying 2 in the process.
Meanwhile, Andrea Iannone enjoyed the best session of his MotoGP comeback with 17th on the grid.
"It wasn't an easy qualifying, but I'm happy," Iannone said. "On a physical level, with the heat, the humidity and considering how these bikes are physical in braking, it's complicated but I’m having fun.
"It's a shame we had so little time, because we have the potential to be competitive, we're only 0.8 from the first GP23.
"It will be my first time in the Sprint, I will have to understand how to manage myself, I don't know exactly what to expect, especially in the slipstream with all these wings."
- Peter McLaren
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