SEPANG — Italy’s Francesco Bagnaia is set to claim his first MotoGP world championship title this weekend when bike-mad Malaysia hosts its first Grand Prix since 2019 as a thrilling title fight reaches its peak.
The Ducati rider ousted Fabio Quartararo at the top of the Australian standings on Sunday when the Frenchman crashed out, putting a huge damper on his title hopes.
At one point in this topsy-turvy season, Yamaha’s Quartararo enjoyed a gaping 91-point lead over their rival.
But Bagnaia now leads the championship with two races to 14 points and can clinch the world title on Sunday if it wins at Sepang and Quartararo finishes fourth or lower.
“I don’t want to say that now, I just want to stay calm,” said Bagnaia, 25, who finished second to Quartararo in the title chase last season after finishing third at Phillip Island.
“We just focus on the next race without thinking about the championship. Be smart.”
“Come on, come on, I don’t want to think about the championship,” added the Italian.
The permutations are complicated, but the Spaniard Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia) and the Italian Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing) are mathematically still in the fight for the title.
However, Espargaro dashed his hopes.
“I think in the last three races we’ve proven that we’re not a team,” said Espargaro, third in the standings after finishing a distant ninth in Australia last weekend.
“We are not at the level to fight for this title.”
Quartararo, 23, had to reflect on how – with Bagnaia’s form in the second half of the season – his defense crumbled.
The title now eludes him ahead of Sepang and the season finale in Valencia, Spain on November 6.
Quartararo’s last win came in Germany in June and the Frenchman hasn’t scored in the last two Grands Prix.
Rival Bagnaia, meanwhile, have triumphed in four of the eight races since Germany, upsetting the title race.
And he has already had success at Sepang, taking the checkered flag in Moto3 in 2016.
But Quartararo says the championship fight could change once again – and this time in his favor.
“I think we can have two great final races. We have to be focused, work hard and then we’ll see,” he said.
“We are going to Malaysia full of motivation. I want to enjoy these last two races, they will be the most important because if I like racing, I know we can be fast.”
MotoGP has returned to Malaysia for the first time since 2019 after the last races were canceled due to COVID-19.
Organizers hope 170,000 spectators will be in attendance over three days of racing, starting with free practice on Friday. Qualifying takes place on Saturday.
- Editor/ additional report by AFP
