2024 MotoGP World Championship
Round 19 – Sepang
Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia – Sunday
Francesco Bagnaia – P1
“I think we gave the people a good show, Jorge was super aggressive, but we had a very clean battle and didn’t touch, I was just waiting a moment to attack on the pace. I knew my pace was good enough to open a gap. As soon as I did it, I was just hoping, dreaming to see, Enea or Marc, gaining on him or overtaking him to take some points. Again today, the performance we are showing is incredible, thanks also to the bike, we are doing something speechless.
“The race was super good and what I was expecting from yesterday, but unlucky – we need to understand what to do better, I’m missing something in the Sprint race, I can’t attack like I am doing in the long race, so we will try and understand it and improve for next year.
“Jorge was stronger in corner five, but I was very strong in all the entrance to the corners, and to overtake me or attack me he’d need to go over the limit, I saw twice he was losing the front. And I was very on the limit in the fight, I was also very good on braking, at the last corner I was always attacking at the maximum and it was a good strategy, but I just gained five points. So it is very difficult for Valencia, but we will try.
“I want to just enjoy the race, I enjoyed it, in any case if I was doing it [slowing the race to bring other riders closer to Jorge] I would not be happy, because it’s something out of my mind, I think it’s not fair and we have to win it in a fair way. We still have a chance, we really need some help by others, because in a case of a win, we’ll win second. But I always try and help everybody during the weekend, to lend my slipstream for someone to follow. I just need someone who will go in between me and Jorge.”
Jorge Martin – P2
“It was a great race, I enjoyed it a lot, thanks to Pecco, because even if we were so aggressive, there’s this respect, we don’t race to destroy the others race, we want to win, both of us. So I think it was a nice show for the fans, I think I maybe need to be a bit more calm, I felt I could fight with him, but at some point I thought it was too much risk and went behind, but as soon as I went behind him everything worked quite bad, and Marc was quite close behind me. When Marc crashed that was a big relief for me, because I had some space to Enea. I was trying to continue with good focus, good pace, and I was trying to recover on Pecco, but I made a mistake in corner nine and said, ‘Jorge that’s enough.’
“It was very physical, I had some moments in the last few laps, so I tried to make it to the end. Nice and important more points for the championship. I think everything was on his side to win today, on my side I could do a little bit more, but it made no sense, I think I could get that first position, but there was too many risks. So I think that’s important, in terms of riding style we were so, so close, there was no different at all, it was more on the mental side, and he had everything today to win.
“So nowadays in MotoGP, if you’re not on the lead in the first half of the race it’s almost impossible to win it, so it was similar to Japan, I closed four-tenths in a lap, so I said ok you can do it, at least put some pressure on him, but I had this moment in corner nine, and then just tried to make it to the end. Let’s see in Barcelona, for sure it’s a nice track for me, nice track for Pecco. I don’t want to be close on the sprint, everything has a time, so I will try and do it on Saturday if possible, but will be difficult for sure. To finish second and just be calm is not easy for us.”
Enea Bastianini – P3
“It was a challenging race, even more than yesterday given the higher temperatures, and I kept struggling on corner entry. We tried to make a step forward in the warmup, but we didn’t manage to do so. When things go this way, it’s important to bring the bike home and on one hand, things played out in our favour as we could finish on the podium. Now the last event awaits us, and I’d like to dedicate this podium to the Valencian community that needs all our support in these extremely difficult times.”
Alex Marquez – P4
“We scored some important points this weekend while finding fresh confidence and the feeling we lacked in recent races. It wasn’t an easy race because we had to stay focused after the red flag, and I wasn’t feeling too well due to a cold, which prevented me from getting a good night sleep. I must thank the team because they were really supportive in my toughest moments, and we need to enjoy this time now that we’re back at our real level.”
Pedro Acosta – P5
“It was very important for us to finish the race, take information and learn. It is difficult for me to say that because I want to win, but today we understood that 5th was the best we could do, it was a good result to take, so we focused on that. The Ducatis were really strong ahead, and I think that I lost some time trying to overtake Maverick Vinales, Fabio Quartataro and Alex Rins. We tried to go after Alex Marquez, but at some point I almost lost the front, so I knew I had to calm things down. Anyway, we managed to go with a good pace, we made a good step, with many things understood, so happy with this result, in very difficult conditions.”
Fabio Quartararo – P6
“I have no idea what happened during the opening lap accident. I had a big touch with Brad Binder or Jack Miller. Then I was flying, and after that I don’t really remember what happened. We were all on the ground, but I don’t think it was a mistake. On a slow corner and change of direction, it’s really easy to touch. Those things can happen. For the restart, I had to take my second bike, and we didn’t have any more tyres, so I started with tyres from yesterday from qualifying that I didn’t really like. Unfortunately, I couldn’t catch the riders ahead of me. But I think this was a really positive race weekend for us, overall. We have done a great qualifying, great Sprint, and great Race. I think we are heading in the right direction, and hopefully we can make a step at the last round.”
Maverick Vinales – P7
“We took a step forward in terms of pace. After the sprint race, we worked to figure out where we had gone wrong. We knew that the problem was with braking and we made a few changes to the set-up which worked well because I was able to battle in the race.”
Alex Rins – P8
“It was a good Race. We’re doing better. Within our possibilities, we made a step forward, and this is my best result with Yamaha so far. Honestly, since Saturday, I was feeling quite good on the bike. We were unlucky with this red flag. I did an unbelievable start, and I was fighting with Marc Marquez. In the restart, I tried to give it my all again, I tried to control the tyres as much as possible. We still need to improve tyre preservation, but we are working in a good way. Let’s see how we can do at the last round. We will give our best again, and let’s see if we can improve.”
Marco Bezzecchi – P9
“It was a great battle, especially with Johann (Zarco). A series of overtakings, but then the temperature of the tire in front was unbelievable and I couldn’t stop the bike. I made some mistakes in the final, today was the hottest day of the weekend, the worst conditions. I have struggled, then when you’re in the slipstream for so long, the bike becomes unmanageable.”
Augusto Fernandez – P10
“I am happy with this top 10, especially after a good race, with a decent pace. We were starting far, so it was important to be patient, especially knowing from the weekend that we had a good pace, but we had to think about managing the tyres first. Step by step, we were going forward, feeling good on the bike, overtaking riders ahead. I could push until the end, to try catching Marco Bezzecchi. I could not pass him, but I think that it was our best race of the season in terms of feeling. It is a bit late, but better than never. Looking forward to the final round to try finishing the season in a good way.”
Johann Zarco – P11
“I’m happy. I didn’t make any mistakes today and we’ve done a good job with what we had. I wanted to get the top 10, but I could not do it. I enjoyed the fight, and that is important. At the last stages of the race, I struggled with the rear tyre, but I managed to control the situation and grab some points”.
Marc Marquez – P12
“We had a very positive weekend, both yesterday and today, on a track that has always been a challenging one for me. There are those days in which you don’t really know why you crashed: I was feeling comfortable today and I knew I could have battled for third-fourth place… But it is what it is, there’s one event left, and we’ll try to finish the season the best possible way.”
Aleix Espargaro – P13
“The race was difficult. Our weekend actually got complicated already in qualifying, where we were unable to earn a better starting position. Starting from so far back makes it difficult to come back. The heat had a negative impact on the bike’s performance and that is certainly something we need to improve for the future.”
Luca Marini – P15
“The race was a little bit hot. From the physical side I am happy with my performance. The grip was quite low with the heat so we struggled for some traction during the race. With the quick start procedure everything also got hotter which complicated some things for the second start. During the race, our tyre management was quite good and I was able to make up ground later, especially under braking. We started far back so it’s difficult to catch up. I am not happy with P15, the position doesn’t show all the work that we have done nor the race that I did today. Points are good, but we want more because everyone is working very hard inside Honda.”
Raul Fernandez – P16
“The race was super difficult to manage with the heat. For the last four laps, I was done but I was determined to finish the race out of respect to the team – but it was very tricky. I had a good start and was with the group. Overtaking was quite difficult because on this stop and go track, we still need to work on the bike. Then I was with Aleix (Espargaro) and Maverick (Viñales) more or less, so we were there, but in the last four laps I couldn’t keep the speed. I got all the heat from the bike and trying to breathe and especially in the slipstream it was nearly impossible.”
Andrea Iannone – P17
“I’m tired, physically I mean, I gave my all. I enjoyed it, even today, the goal was to get to the finishing line without making mistakes. We showed over the weekend that we had some good potential at times. I’m definitely happy, thanks to the Team and Ducati, it was beautiful, a great gift.”
Lorenzo Savadori – P18
“It was a hard race because it was incredibly hot. I was still working for 2025 and we tried some new things on the aerodynamic side. At the beginning of the race, I didn’t feel very comfortable, but in the middle of the race, I had good pace. I wasn’t able to pass Andrea Iannone as, I think, when I was close to his rear, the temperature in my front tire increased a lot and I needed to reduce the speed. Of course, the main goal here for Aprilia and for me was the testing for 2025. Thank you to the Trackhouse Racing MotoGP Team for everything over the course of a tough weekend.”
Takaaki Nakagami DNF
“Since yesterday, during the Sprint, I have had a lot of vibrations. I felt them a lot today, and I couldn’t ride the way I wanted. I wasn’t confident, so I stopped, we need to understand what happened. Let’s see what we can do in the next Grand Prix. We are working on fixing this feeling”.
Joan Mir – DNF
“I made a really good start with the first go of the race and I was running with the top ten! Unfortunately, I made some contact with Miller, so I was quite worried, it was a relief to see the images of him in pit lane and then I went to his box after and he was typical Jack. This is the most important. During the race I wasn’t able to ride in a good way and I fell, unharmed, but our race was over. It hasn’t happened again, so we need to check and be sure. Like the last few races, I was able to overtake many of the riders but starting in the back complicates things. One more chance to do some more.”
Team Managers
Luigi Dall’Igna – Ducati Corse General Manager
“Obviously our thoughts go first to the Valencian Community, who’s enduring a very dramatic moment. They need all the support, and I hope the situation will improve as soon as possible. Speaking of the race, it was fantastic. The battle between Pecco and Jorge in the opening laps was outstanding and a very clean one. Both riders rode perfectly, and I must congratulate them on their performance as they delivered some incredible excitement. It was nice to see Enea also on the podium, despite the issues he had with the front-end. He did an excellent job in scoring the best possible result and we’ll try to put him in the right conditions to do well in the final race of the season.”
Nicolas Goyon – GASGAS Team Manager
“We are happy with the final result of this Grand Prix of Malaysia, after a bad qualifying and an average sprint, but somehow we managed to turn things around on Sunday. I would like to congratulate both Pedro Acosta and Augusto Fernandez for their efforts. After the sprint, we identified issues on Acosta’s side and we found some room for improvement with a different direction in the warm up, which was confirmed by Pedro for the race. Achieving another top 5 from P13 is a great achievement, so congratulations to Pedro for finishing both sprint and race in the points this weekend. He moves up to 5th in the championship heading to the last round, which is great. The season has been difficult for Augusto, but we saw some sparkles in his sprint, so we had hopes for the long distance. He finished in the top 10, his best result of the year, which will give him some energy and power to close the season in the best way possible. Special thanks to the mechanics who have done a tremendous job this weekend, especially with Augusto’s two crashes yesterday morning. Time to pack, go home, get a week of rest, before the final round of the season!”
Massimo Meregalli – Monster Yamaha Team Director
“Let’s start by stating the obvious: Fabio was extremely unlucky to get caught up in that nasty race incident, but he was extremely lucky to walk away from it. It was a big relief to see him back on his feet again so quickly and to hear that nobody got seriously injured. A restart after a big accident is always difficult for the riders, but it’s part of racing. Other challenges in this race were the high temperatures as well as tyre degradation towards the later stages. Fabio and Álex did well to deal with all of this and ride at the limit whilst preserving their tyres. This sixth and eighth place are solid results, so we wrap up the second triple-header in a positive way. We now fly back to Europe. A week off is well deserved for the riders and the team. We will use it to recharge ahead of the season finale.”
Massimo Rivola – Aprilia Racing
“Qualifying and the start are two crucial stages of the weekend so, not having done well in these two things, it was hard to expect a race close to the podium. Maverick’s race was still positive, especially when he found himself with some open track ahead. It was more difficult for Aleix who was unable to set his pace battling with the other riders. We will close out the season in Spain and our thoughts go to all the families in Valencia who have been hit by this tragedy.”
Francesco Guidotti – Red Bull KTM Factory Racing Team Manager
“Luckily nobody injured today. It was very bad to see. Brad tried to make the second start but the pain in shoulder meant it was not safe to start. He’ll have a check tomorrow and Jack had a check in the medical center but was then back in the box and was OK. We were unlucky today but then fortunate in another way and we have one more chance to make some results now this season.”
Pablo Nieto – VR46 Team Manager
“We close a very special weekend, first of all our embrace, as a Team, goes to the population and the city of Valencia for the tragedy that is happening in these hours. In terms of performance, it was certainly a demanding GP: Marco with this type of grip and temperatures has struggled more than in the previous races. In any case, he brought home a solid placement and returned to the points zone. Having Andrea in our garage was special, he showed he can be a fast rider, as well as a friend of the entire VR46 family. He brought so much enthusiasm, passion and, despite the physical effort, today he finished the race. Finally, good luck to our Fabio. The surgery went well, a long recovery path awaits him and we expect him on the track soon.
Wilco Zeelenberg – Trackhouse Team Manager
“That was a very hard race weekend – painful for Trackhouse Racing MotoGP. The riders did their best and Raul was clearly targeting some points but, at the end, got overtaken by Marc (Marquez) and Morbidelli to finally finish 16th. He was struggling for breath through the race and with the heat, he wasn’t able to sustain his pace and get a point. Unfortunate, but we have another race coming up and we are looking forward to the last round and hope, after the red flag all the other boys who crashed are fine and ready for the big finale.”
Davide Brivio – Trackhouse Team Principal
“It was difficult for us to race in these very hot conditions. Raul couldn’t finish the race to his full potential because of the heat and he had to slow down. That is a pity because we were in the position to score some points but then ended up finishing 16th. Lorenzo kept doing his job, carrying on the testing and he has our thanks for his work in these past four races. Now we are looking forward to the final round – let’s see where we g as we can’t wait to finish the first season for Trackhouse Racing on a high.”
Piero Taramasso – Michelin
“We had the right tyres for the conditions, and several strategies were possible. After Thailand, where we had already seen that heat and humidity were complex elements to control, things were turned up a notch here in Malaysia. However, our partners, assisted by our teams on the ground, managed to find the right combination and discover the optimum settings for our tyres.
“With a very hot track and air loaded with humidity, the right set-up was not easy to determine, but the package we selected was well adapted to the situation.
“The Soft front tyre, which corresponds to the technical criteria of the 2023 Medium compound, was appropriate for chasing lap records and maintaining a high race pace from start to finish. During the Tissot Sprint, we saw that the Medium rear compound was perfect, and this was also the case for the Grand Prix since all the riders chose it.
“For the front, both the Soft and Medium compounds were in the mix. We saw that Francesco Bagnaia and Jorge Martin made different tyre choices (the latter switching to the Medium front) as the two championship leaders engaged in a merciless battle. It made for a particularly exciting spectacle, and the grand finale of the Riders’ title is set to be played out at the final race of the season.”
Sepang MotoGP Race Results
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Time/Gap |
| 1 | F Bagnaia | Duc | 38m04.563 |
| 2 | J Martin | Duc | +3.141 |
| 3 | E Bastianini | Duc | +10.484 |
| 4 | A Marquez | Duc | +12.230 |
| 5 | P Acosta | KTM | +13.699 |
| 6 | F Quartararo | Yam | +16.245 |
| 7 | M Viñales | Apr | +19.447 |
| 8 | A Rins | Yam | +20.611 |
| 9 | M Bezzecchi | Duc | +21.994 |
| 10 | A Fernandez | KTM | +22.174 |
| 11 | J Zarco | Hon | +25.625 |
| 12 | M Marquez | Duc | +27.276 |
| 13 | A Espargaro | Apr | +27.604 |
| 14 | F Morbidelli | Duc | +27.949 |
| 15 | L Marini | Hon | +28.838 |
| 16 | R Fernandez | Apr | +38.847 |
| 17 | A Iannone | Duc | +47.599 |
| 18 | L Savadori | Apr | +48.956 |
| Not Classified | |||
| DNF | T Nakagami | Hon | 5 laps |
| DNF | J Mir | Hon | 14 laps |
| DNF | J Miller | KTM | / |
| DNF | B Binder | KTM | / |
Sepang MotoGP Top Speeds Across Weekend
| Pos | Rider | Bike | Speed |
| 1 | E Bastianini | Duc | 337.5 |
| 2 | B Binder | Ktm | 336.4 |
| 3 | F Bagnaia | Duc | 336.4 |
| 4 | F Morbidelli | Duc | 335.4 |
| 5 | P Acosta | Ktm | 335.4 |
| 6 | J Martin | Duc | 335.4 |
| 7 | M Marquez | Duc | 334.3 |
| 8 | J Zarco | Hon | 334.3 |
| 9 | J Miller | Ktm | 334.3 |
| 10 | R Fernandez | Apr | 334.3 |
| 11 | M Bezzecchi | Duc | 333.3 |
| 12 | A Espargaro | Apr | 333.3 |
| 13 | A Fernandez | Ktm | 333.3 |
| 14 | J Mir | Hon | 333.3 |
| 15 | M Viñales | Apr | 333.3 |
| 16 | A Rins | Yam | 332.3 |
| 17 | L Savadori | Apr | 331.2 |
| 18 | A Marquez | Duc | 331.2 |
| 19 | F Quartararo | Yam | 331.2 |
| 20 | L Marini | Hon | 330.2 |
| 21 | T Nakagami | Hon | 330.2 |
| 22 | A Iannone | Duc | 329.2 |
MotoGP Championship Standings
| Pos | Rider | Points |
| 1 | Martin | 485 |
| 2 | Bagnaia | 461 |
| 3 | Marquez | 369 |
| 4 | Bastianini | 368 |
| 5 | Acosta | 209 |
| 6 | Binder | 206 |
| 7 | Viñales | 189 |
| 8 | Di Giannantonio | 165 |
| 9 | Morbidelli | 161 |
| 10 | Marquez | 155 |
| 11 | Espargaro | 146 |
| 12 | Bezzecchi | 144 |
| 13 | Quartararo | 108 |
| 14 | Miller | 84 |
| 15 | Oliveira | 71 |
| 16 | Fernandez | 66 |
| 17 | Zarco | 53 |
| 18 | Rins | 31 |
| 19 | Nakagami | 31 |
| 20 | Fernandez | 27 |
| 21 | Mir | 21 |
| 22 | Marini | 14 |
| 23 | Espargaro | 12 |
| 24 | Pedrosa | 7 |
| 25 | Bradl | 2 |
| 26 | Gardner | 0 |
| 27 | Iannone | 0 |
| 28 | Savadori | 0 |
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