SEPANG: Reigning champion Francesco Bagnaia maintained his fine momentum to dominate the afternoon practice session of the 2024 Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) at the Sepang International Circuit here today. The Ducati Lenovo Team rider clocked the fastest lap time of one minute and 57.679 seconds on lap 16, with Jorge Martin of Prima Pramac Racing coming out second fastest and Ducati Lenovo Team’s Enea Bastianini third fastest.
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Bagnaia expressed satisfaction with his performance, especially after overcoming a rear tyre issue during Free Practice 1 earlier in the day. He noted the importance of tackling the challenging track conditions and maintaining competitiveness despite the tyre consumption issue at Sepang.
In Moto2 Practice 1 action, Spaniard Manuel Gonzalez of Gresini Moto2 led the session with a top time of 2:05.576. Filip Salac of ELF Marc VDS Racing Team followed closely in second, with Deniz Oncu of Red Bull KTM Ajo securing the third spot.
Local wildcar
d riders Muhammad Helmi Azman and Khairul Idham Pawi from Petronas MIE Racing RW faced difficulties, with Helmi placing 29th and Khairul Idham in the last position. Meanwhile, in Moto3, David Alonso of CFMOTO Aspar Team impressed with the fastest time in Practice 1, outperforming Adrian Fernandez of Leopard Racing and Taiyo Furusato of Honda Team Asia.
The Malaysia MotoGP will proceed with the qualifying session tomorrow, leading up to race day on Sunday.
