MotoGP 2022 – Round 19 – Sepang
Reports/Results
Pecco Bagnaia – P1
“All weekend, I missed all the sessions [practice starts] because in FP3, I crashed, and I didn’t; in Q2, I crashed, and I didn’t. So, I wasn’t so sure about the start. This morning, the two starts weren’t so good, but in the Barcelona test, we did something on the launch system that was good for us, because before, it was very difficult to have a good start, it was wheelie-ing a lot. I did like 23 starts in the Barcelona tests and from that moment, all the starts afterwards were perfect, and today was the best one. When I saw that the reflex on the lights was perfect and the release of the brakes was perfect, I just thought that I was overtaking a row. But then also the first braking zone was a bit risky, but useful.
“When I passed the first two corners, I was more calm. I said, ‘Okay, now I can start to adapt my pace.’ Jorge in front of me was pushing a lot and, after two laps trying to follow him, I said, ‘This pace is too much for me.’ I calmed down and was just constant with my pace, and that’s it, that’s what I did.
“Jorge unfortunately crashed but I think this pace was also meaning more consumption of the rear tyre. In any case, he was doing a really good job. But, the most difficult part of the race was the part when Enea overtook me because I knew that Fabio was third, and today it was important to get as many points possible to arrive in Valencia and be more careful.
“So, I just tried to understand his pace and then when I saw that my pace was better than his, I just tried to be in front again and braked as hard as possible to prevent any possibility of an overtake. So, it was tough, really tough, but one of the best moments of the season.
“I was braking so hard. I was losing a bit in the long corners because he was using more lean angle with the bike and was closing the lines with more speed. I was losing a bit of time there but then my braking was very strong and in the last part of the race, it was the thing that let me win the race.
“23 points, I’m just missing two, so I will have to finish 14th if he (Fabio) wins. It’s easy to say now, but it will be very tough because sometimes when you are careful, you have more trouble, you have more mistakes, you have more distractions. I will try just to do a normal weekend like this one, maybe with less crashes – because this weekend, I crashed too much – and be smart, for sure. To work well, to be in the front, and if I have the possibility to win, I will try to win again.”
Enea Bastianini – P2
“I’m happy, because 20 points are important to continue the chase to Espargaró, but at the same time I’m a little disappointed because when I was at the front, something changed and the feeling with the bike wasn’t the same. We’ll analyse the data to understand what happened… The important thing is that we showed once again to be among the top players in this category. We’ll try to wrap things up the best way at Valencia.”
Fabio Quartararo – P3
“I hoped it would not be victory for Pecco, of course, but at least we gave our maximum today. The start was the key point, [and] the first lap. We changed the strategy a little bit compared to Australia when I wanted to keep the tyre fresh for the end. Today, I just pushed myself quite hard at the beginning because our bike is not super-good at saving the tyre, so I had to push for three or four laps until I was in front of Marc, so it was pretty good and I’m happy to get that result today.
“I saw Pecco was really good in the first braking zone, so I said, ‘I have to make something,’ because, if not, my title chance will fly away, and I did a great first lap. Even if now we were super-far away, I’m not giving up, and I want to finish in a good way in Valencia.”
“In the end, he (Bezzecchi) was one-and-a-half seconds then he came back to three or two-tenths from me, but I pushed like hell because, first of all, I knew that if he overtook me and Pecco won, he would have been World Champion. But, especially, I wanted a podium and I knew that if he overtook me, I could not overtake him back. So, let’s see how we handle it, but I’m pretty happy to at least bring the mystery until Valencia.
“I just broke my finger and, of course, it was really painful but luckily Angel (Charte) took care of me yesterday afternoon so I want to say thanks to him. Of course, adrenaline is a great painkiller and also fighting for that kind of position. I think my finger was something else but as soon as I stopped, right now I feel pain the finger. It doesn’t matter because we gave everything and that’s what we wanted today.
“I will prepare myself like a crazy man (for Valencia) because I know the only solution for me to fight there will be to win. So, it doesn’t matter, but I want to enjoy the Valencia race because I know it’s the last one of the season, and then we’ll see how we do. But I’m feeling like we have to enjoy the Valencia race.”
Marco Bezzecchi – P4
“I am very happy, only a small mistake: the start! I must admit, with a bit of irony, that I have not yet fully understood how to manage this phase of the race. I stayed focused then and pushed hard to move up the rankings. I was just a few tenths from the podium, but the tire was completely finished and I couldn’t do more. The last laps were complicated, but what a great job of the whole Team!”
Alex Rins – P5
“The race wasn’t too bad, but we struggled a lot. I couldn’t get the best start when I released the clutch, and then I got swamped a bit. After that I found that when I was behind other riders I was struggling for grip and a lack of traction on corner exits. I felt the grip level on track was much less than in the practices, and I was not as strong as in the practices on braking; that meant I wasn’t able to show the pace that I’ve shown in the last few days. However, fifth place is not too bad, and it’s more points to solidify my position in the championship.”
Jack Miller – P6
“That was a pretty good comeback here in Malaysia, and it needed to be. When you crash and qualify 14th and then drop to 21st on the first lap, you give yourself a bit of work to do – so to end up sixth, move gradually forward all race … it’s not every day you make up 15 places in MotoGP, so I definitely have that to be happy about.
“It’s been a bit of a weird weekend after how busy being at home was – it all seemed a bit quiet here by comparison! I came up here feeling pretty sore after the crash with (Alex) Marquez last week, and it’s always so physical here with how hot and humid it is, you know it’s coming but it’s not easy to deal with.
“I was suffering quite a lot with the bruises I have on my left leg after the crash at Phillip Island because they’re in a place where I put a lot of pressure on the leg when I’m pushing on the bike, so the rest of the body is sore because I’ve been compensating for that all weekend. My leg actually started to feel alright on Saturday morning and then you saw what happened on Saturday afternoon when I high-sided in qualifying, so it was a bit tender again after that. My body right now is pretty toast if I’m being honest …
“Qualifying 14th was hardly ideal, worst for me this year actually, but this is a track where you can overtake and it’s always a long hot race here, so it’s not like other tracks where you can be pretty much out of it if you qualify that far back. My long-run pace was good, I did more than a race distance on the soft rear (tyre) so I felt optimistic for the race. I made things difficult for myself, but not impossible.
“I reckon I made one of my worst starts in my Grand Prix career – the start itself was OK, but then I got sandwiched with the row in front of me and had to roll out of it and got stuck on the outside of Turn 1, so got hung out to dry. From there it was all about getting through the first lap safely and starting my race from there, let’s say. It felt like a long race just trying to pick guys off lap by lap, getting my head down and not thinking too far ahead. The bike was performing really good, and on the last lap I had (Honda’s) Marc (Marquez) ahead of me and had one chance to get him before Turn 4, so that was a good way to finish it.
“I came into Malaysia with no chance to win the world championship after what happened to me at home, but I still have a top-three finish to chase. It’s clearly not going to be easy, (Aprilia’s) Aleix (Espargaro) is 23 points ahead of me so I basically have to win at Valencia and third is his to lose … but I’ve now scored the most points I’ve scored in one season, so there’s plenty to be positive about.
“Of course I want to see my Ducati team-mate Pecco (Bagnaia) win the championship now I can’t and I’ve said that all along, but for me there’s an incentive to finishing third because it means I get a bonus! At the end of the day this is an individual sport and I will try to get the best I can – and the difference between third and fourth or fifth in the championship is quite a considerable amount of money, trust me … It’s a long shot, but I’m still pushing for that third.
“I reckon we all need a break after that – that’s five races in six weeks – and I have my final race for Ducati to look forward to, so let’s enjoy Valencia in a couple of weeks.
Marc Marquez – P7
“As I said yesterday, what we did in Qualifying was above and beyond and this is more or less what I was expecting from our race. We gave our 100% all race to achieve the best possible result, we started really well but I saw I didn’t have the speed to stay with the leaders. I tried to find my place and avoid taking any unneeded risks and get some good information from the race.
“I did everything that Honda asked me so I am optimistic they will use this information to improve in the future. Now we can start to prepare for Valencia after a difficult weekend, because here we could see the level of our bike. I think we can be closer in Valencia.”
Brad Binder – P8
“We learned a lot these last six weeks and had some ‘ups’ as well as some challenging weekends. I need to say thank you to my team because they did an unbelievable job and gave everything every session for me. Unfortunately, the result wasn’t there today and we still need to work to get where we want to be on Sunday afternoons. It is only a matter of time though.”
Johann Zarco – P9
“A positive race all in all, I did a lot of duels and overtaking, the pace was good and the feeling was very positive. The race was really very hard, the heat was unbelievable.”
Aleix Espargaro – P10
“Battling for the championship title was a dream come true and, in any case, I am proud of what we accomplished this year. However, it’s still a pity not to have finished the season the way we deserved. In the last few races, something didn’t work right and we need to understand why. I’m convinced that we’ll be able to confirm our good performance next year as well. We have demonstrated that we have the speed. Now it’s time to hit reset, head home, and get ready for Valencia. We can still make a play for third place and, above all, finish out this season with a good race.”
Franco Morbidelli – P11
“I have to be happy about this weekend. I was fast throughout all the practice sessions. I had a really good pace. I was also able to be quick in qualifying, which was the most important thing. I started the race and I needed to do these two long laps. After I cleared out the two penalties, I got back in – I don’t know if my tyres got dirty or something – but I lost some speed and some grip right away. It was difficult to get back up to the speed that I think I possibly could have achieved otherwise.
“But anyway, I was able to catch up, catch up, and catch up. Then, on the final lap, I got another penalty for normal last-lap overtaking. I’m sorry about that, but in my opinion there was enough space to go into that corner. We can discuss all day long if it was me going towards Aleix, or him towards me. So, finally, I got the penalty. But this doesn’t take away from my good race and good weekend.”
Cal Crutchlow – P12
“I was pleased to finish the race actually, it’s a difficult race to finish because of the tyre situation and managing the race. I didn’t have a great pace in the race, we had a small problem. I had an amazing start, probably the best start I had on any Yamaha all year, but then I went into turn two and nearly crashed like in the Qualifying yesterday where i lost the rear. I lost some positions but I was quite comfortable, I was pushed out at one point where I went back four positions. In the last three laps, I managed to pass both Maverick Vinales and Miguel Oliveira and got some good points for the team. In the end, we can go away happy as a team, I did my job and now we’re on to Valencia.”
Miguel Oliveira – P13
“A difficult race. I felt at the beginning I could be fast and made my way into the top ten. I thought that might be a decent result but around lap ten-eleven I started to have issues with the rear tire. I couldn’t stop the bike that well and I ran wide many times by trying to make-up ground. It was frustrating but after so many flyaway races we’re happy to go home and will go to the final race with a lot of motivation. We picked up a win on this trip and a top five finish and that’s what we need to aim for again in Valencia.”
Pol Espargaro – P14
“It was a hard one today, especially with the temperature. It was not as hot as in previous years but the humidity was really high all the same. We started in P20 and had to be aggressive in the first laps to make up some ground. Finally we were able to get two points here, gaining six places. Now the attention turns to Valencia where I have been strong in the past and I think it will suit our bike better.”
Raul Fernandez – P15
“The team did a great job with the bike because I was feeling like I wanted to. We changed the settings for the race and I enjoyed riding the bike and was riding like a kid. I am very happy to have scored a point, and I will head home with a really good feeling and looking forward to heading to Valencia in Spain in two weeks.”
Maverick Vinales – P16
“It’s hard to find an explanation. All we have to go on is results and they tell us that we have work to do. The situation needs to be analysed, understood, and used to improve. For Aprilia and me this was our first year together and we still have a lot to learn. Like in Australia, we were competitive in spurts but at the end of the day, we were unable to fully exploit our potential and convert it into a good race. Now we’ll take a week off to rest up because it has been a long and demanding season and then all eyes on Valencia and the future.”
Álex Márquez – P17
“It was a difficult Sunday, we knew before the race that in the dry it would be difficult for us and there are many, many problems with the bike. So there was not much we could do, also I had the long lap which made things harder. But I’m happy with myself as I know I gave 100% throughout the weekend and also I want to say thanks to the team as they’re still pushing a lot and helping me, so thanks to all the LCR Team. This is our reality, it’s where the bike is and we need to keep going. There is one (race) to go.”
Remy Gardner – P18
“A tough race and it felt like it was impossible to avoid mistakes because we couldn’t find any rear grip here. It was a similar story in Phillip Island last week. I kept going and kept trying to pass Alex [Marquez] but it was really hard work. Onto the next one.”
Joan Mir – P19
“It’s been a disappointing race for me, especially after a good performance on the early laps. I started to suffer with arm pump, which is something I haven’t really experienced before. I had a little bit of it last time we raced here, but nothing very bad, whereas this year I could barely use the lever. I’m extremely disappointed, for myself but also for the team, because we’ve been trying hard and we wanted and needed a good result. I thought I would get a Top 5, which would’ve been a boost, but it wasn’t to be and luck wasn’t on my side again. I’ll consult with the doctors to see if I need surgery in the winter, because it’s horrible.”
Jorge Martín – DNF
“I had one goal and that was victory, I had to try. I was the strongest all weekend and I am happy about that. It will serve as a lesson for me in the future.”
Fabio DiGiannantonio – DNF
“I had a good started and maintained my position despite all the coming togethers of the first laps, but I saw immediately that we were losing traction compared to Pol Espargaró, who was ahead of us. Too bad, because we were in the group fighting for a top-15 finish and I pushed hard for this result: unfortunately I lacked feeling with the front-end and I eventually crashed. Now let’s focus on Valencia.”
Darryn Binder – DNF
“Overall, it’s been a little bit of a difficult weekend. Unfortunately, starting at the back of the grid today, I knew that I would have to get a good start and make some places up in the beginning if I wanted a chance to fight for some points.
“I managed to get a really good start and was feeling good in the first six laps, and then started to struggle a little bit and I didn’t have the same pace as the group that I was in, but at the same time I was just trying to keep my rhythm and keep myself inside the points. Unfortunately in lap 11, I took the front going into turn five. A really disappointing end to the weekend. But anyway, we go to the last race and we will do our best.”
Takaaki Nakagami – DNF
“I want to say sorry to the team as I crashed during the race. I’m very disappointed as I didn’t feel too bad, I was just trying to follow Álex, but it was impossible. It was a mistake, but it only takes one mistake. I want to say thanks to the team for this opportunity, for sure it will help for the future. It’s been a very nice experience and a lot of fun, and if I have more chances next year I will come back stronger.”
Luca Marini – DNF
“A real shame, we had the potential to fight for the Top 5. Immediately after the start, I had a problem with the front lowering device. It was impossible to keep racing. I arrived very slow at the first corner, I tried not to damage the other riders and then went back to the pits. It’s part of the game: we have a lot of electronics on the bike and a problem of this nature can happen. I’m sorry.”
Team Managers
Luigi Dall’Igna – General Manager of Ducati Corse
“Today was a tough race: Pecco was very good, and he won above all thanks to his incredible start. He was able to hold off a really competitive Enea, and it was a good challenge between the two. Now we have to try to keep our feet on the ground. We must get to Valencia with the same concentration we have had so far. On the other hand, Jack made an incredible comeback, and if he had been further ahead, he could have achieved something more. Today we won the team title, an additional achievement to what is turning out to be an incredible season. I’m overjoyed because all the guys deserve it.”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“We can only be satisfied with our performance today. The odds were against us at this track, but we did some damage limitation and gave it our all to keep the championship fight alive until the final round in two weeks‘ time. Fabio did everything right today. He has a hand injury, yet you would have never guessed it by the way he was riding.
“He kept his pace over the entire race and couldn‘t have done better. This podium is important for him and the team, because we‘re showing we are not going down without a fight.
“Franky rode a really impressive race. He helped Fabio in the opening laps to keep the Suzukis behind him for as long as possible before he had to do the long-lap penalties. To come back from that and still take tenth place shows how strong his pace really was today. The 3s penalty in the end puts him in 11th position, but we will focus on the positive side, which is that this was probably his best ride of the season.
“After a long and busy overseas period, we now travel back to Europe. We have one week to recharge and prepare for battle. No doubt we will give it our all again in Valencia.”
Livio Suppo – Suzuki Team Manager
“It’s been a long time since we’ve had a good race for both sides of the garage, in the last couple of races we’ve only felt ‘half happy’ because Alex has done well but Joan has suffered. Let’s hope in Valencia we can have both riders finishing well.
“Alex did a pretty good race, he has been competitive all weekend and despite not having great grip, he still managed a solid fifth. Joan was also doing a good job but he was affected by arm pump, which is something he hasn’t really had a problem with before, and it cost him. We’ll try to help him find a solution, although arm pump can be tough to fix. Sepang is a very physical track, and Valencia a bit less so, so let’s hope for a strong finish for Joan there.”
Ken Kawauchi – Suzuki Technical Manager
“The riders gave 100% but we couldn’t’ fight for the podium today, and our race pace was not quite as quick as we expected. However, the performance overall wasn’t bad, and Alex managed to get a nice fifth place. Joan was also fighting very well, and he was on course for a good finish, but unfortunately the arm pump happened and he couldn’t do any more. We have just one race left, and we’ll give absolutely everything to get a good result for both riders, who deserve a good send off.”
Pablo Nieto – Mooney VR46 Racing Team Manager
“What a super recovery for Marco considering that after the start he was in 11th place. He really set an excellent pace and moved up the rankings to reach the podium. He tried, but in the end the tyre consumption was crazy and he preferred not to take risks and throw everything away. He confirms that he is among the fastest on the grid and we are very happy with his growth and the whole Team throughout the year. A great pity instead the technical problem of Luca. He had a good start and could have a role as protagonist for the very first positions: he deserved much more.”
Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Team Manager
“A hard day today and for all the good work by the team these days in Malaysia – and through all of these flyaway GPs the last few weeks – we just couldn’t give the riders the best setting to make the most of the grip here. We have to understand how we can improve to give our guys more drive. It was positive that we stayed 3rd in the teams’ championship and we’ll look forward to Valencia and ending the season in the best possible way.”
Hervé Poncharal – Tech3 KTM Team Manager
“Very tough race here in Malaysia because the weather was very hot and humid, but our two guys had a strong race. One more time, the start was not ideal, but when you start so far down the grid, you can not expect much more unfortunately. Still, they both pushed a lot and grabbed positions, until they were one behind another.
“At one point, Remy Gardner suffered rear tyre dropping and lost contact with his teammate. Raul was in a good group following closely the likes of Pol Espargaro and Maverick Viñales, and came back to the pit box saying that he almost collapsed because he was very hot behind them. He did not give up though and passed Viñales within the final laps to finish just behind Espargaro, and scored a deserved point with not so many crashes at the front. This is a great achievement for his team and himself.
“Both riders did a good race, and I think that we have seen over the last couple of races the progress made by both Raul and Remy. There is one more round to go, in Valencia in two weeks. They both know the track really well and I hope that we can finish the season on a high note, with both in the points.
“Of course, I would like to finish with the sad news that we all heard today as Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz passed away. Many riders of the grid, our own riders, our team and our sport could not have done what we have if it was not for him. We have to remember that this is thanks to people like Didi Mateschitz that we can do what we love, MotoGP racing, and today was dedicated to him. He was with us today.”
Razlan Razali – WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Principal
“It was a good showing from our riders especially Cal Crutchlow who finished 12th and for Darryn who started from the back of the grid but made a great start by being up to 11th in the first few laps. Unfortunately, his pace dropped and he ended up crashing. But solid points from Cal to end with four points and a relatively good showing for the team as the objective is to collect as many points as possible. It was a very good Malaysian Grand Prix weekend and a good homecoming for the team. Now, we rest for a little bit before the final race in Valencia.”
Wilco Zeelenberg – WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Manager
“We leave Sepang with mixed feelings. Darryn started very well, but crashed on the 11th lap. The rider is ok, which is obviously the most important thing. Cal did a great race. He had a difficult start and struggled a bit in stopping the bike. But he finished in 12th, grabbing another four points, which is important. Also looking to the boys who finished behind us, it’s very impressive, what he is doing; coming out of retirement and finishing consistently inside the points. Chapeau to him. After these four overseas rounds, we go to Valencia now, hoping to be able to end this in a decent way.”
2022 Sepang MotoGP Race Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | Francesco BAGNAIA | DUCATI | 40m14.332 |
| 2 | Enea BASTIANINI | DUCATI | +0.270 |
| 3 | Fabio QUARTARARO | YAMAHA | +2.773 |
| 4 | Marco BEZZECCHI | DUCATI | +5.446 |
| 5 | Alex RINS | SUZUKI | +11.923 |
| 6 | Jack MILLER | DUCATI | +13.472 |
| 7 | Marc MARQUEZ | HONDA | +14.304 |
| 8 | Brad BINDER | KTM | +16.805 |
| 9 | Johann ZARCO | DUCATI | +18.358 |
| 10 | Aleix ESPARGARO | APRILIA | +21.591 |
| 11 | Franco MORBIDELLI | YAMAHA | +23.235 |
| 12 | Cal CRUTCHLOW | YAMAHA | +24.641 |
| 13 | Miguel OLIVEIRA | KTM | +24.918 |
| 14 | Pol ESPARGARO | HONDA | +25.586 |
| 15 | Raul FERNANDEZ | KTM | +27.039 |
| 16 | Maverick VIÑALES | APRILIA | +30.427 |
| 17 | Alex MARQUEZ | HONDA | +33.322 |
| 18 | Remy GARDNER | KTM | +33.691 |
| 19 | Joan MIR | SUZUKI | +41.838 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | Darryn BINDER | YAMAHA | 10 laps |
| DNF | Fabio DI GIANNANTONIO | DUCATI | 10 laps |
| DNF | Jorge MARTIN | DUCATI | 14 laps |
| DNF | Tetsuta NAGASHIMA | HONDA | 16 laps |
| DNF | Luca MARINI | DUCATI | 19 laps |
1 Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) – Ducati – 40’14.332
2 Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) – Ducati – +0.270
3 Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) – Yamaha – +2.773
MotoGP Championship Points Standings
| Pos | Rider | Nat | Points |
| 1 | BAGNAIA Francesco | ITA | 258 |
| 2 | QUARTARARO Fabio | FRA | 235 |
| 3 | ESPARGARO Aleix | SPA | 212 |
| 4 | BASTIANINI Enea | ITA | 211 |
| 5 | MILLER Jack | AUS | 189 |
| 6 | BINDER Brad | RSA | 168 |
| 7 | ZARCO Johann | FRA | 166 |
| 8 | RINS Alex | SPA | 148 |
| 9 | OLIVEIRA Miguel | POR | 138 |
| 10 | MARTIN Jorge | SPA | 136 |
| 11 | VIÑALES Maverick | SPA | 122 |
| 12 | MARQUEZ Marc | SPA | 113 |
| 13 | MARINI Luca | ITA | 111 |
| 14 | BEZZECCHI Marco | ITA | 106 |
| 15 | MIR Joan | SPA | 77 |
| 16 | ESPARGARO Pol | SPA | 56 |
| 17 | MARQUEZ Alex | SPA | 50 |
| 18 | NAKAGAMI Takaaki | JPN | 46 |
| 19 | MORBIDELLI Franco | ITA | 36 |
| 20 | DI GIANNANTONIO Fabio | ITA | 23 |
| 21 | DOVIZIOSO Andrea | ITA | 15 |
| 22 | BINDER Darryn | RSA | 12 |
| 23 | GARDNER Remy | AUS | 10 |
| 24 | CRUTCHLOW Cal | GBR | 10 |
| 25 | FERNANDEZ Raul | SPA | 10 |
| 26 | BRADL Stefan | GER | 2 |
| 27 | PIRRO Michele | ITA | 0 |
| 28 | SAVADORI Lorenzo | ITA | 0 |
| 29 | NAGASHIMA Tetsuta | JPN | 0 |
| 30 | PETRUCCI Danilo | ITA | 0 |
| 31 | WATANABE Kazuki | JPN | 0 |
