Pecco Bagnaia Triumphs over Jorge Martin in Epic Sepang Title…
The title fight moves to the line as Pecco Bagnaia takes his 10th race win of the season triumphing over…
After another good start to the race in Sepang, Marc Marquez had the front-row seat for the epic three-lap battle between Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia for the race lead.
Despite the two frontrunners battling to their teeth, Marquez still had to give it his all to stay only to stay with the Top 2.
“I rode as fast as I could from the first moment,” Marquez explained, recalling the early laps. “I had the opportunity to follow Jorge and Pecco. The first laps were amazing. I had the VIP seat and enjoyed what I saw.”
Marquez was struck by how relentless Martin and Bagnaia were. “Their battle was impressive,” he said. “The best thing about it – the pace was super high despite the many overtakes, and even then, we were able to ride faster than the guys behind.”
From his vantage point, Marquez could sense the gap in performance between himself and the front runners. “I wouldn’t have been able to get involved at any point today. Jorge and Pecco were faster,” he admitted.
“Only when they were fighting, I was just able to keep up. But intervening in the early stages? Impossible. They were stronger on their own.”
Marquez was set for an uneventful, lonely third-place finish…until disaster struck. Having built up a 2.5-second lead over fourth-running Bastianini, the Spaniard lost the front into the last corner leaving him baffled since he doesn’t recall doing anything different compared to prior laps.
OH @marcmarquez93 is gone! 💥
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 3, 2024
He was pulling off miracles sticking with the GP24s in front of him! #MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 | #TheRematch 🏁 pic.twitter.com/LjlgFBBF7s
“I didn’t do anything differently, at least not consciously. I didn’t try anything on the brakes either; I was in my normal rhythm, and just controlled, didn’t attack.”
Following his crash, he rejoined the race but a mechanical issue further impacted his race. “The bike was then slightly damaged, the gear lever was crooked,” Marquez noted.
“Out of respect for my team, there was no question of giving up – and even if there were only a few points, I wanted to go through with it. I’m not happy with that at all.”
