Bagnaia after disappointing sprint: “We need to take some points from Martin”

Bagnaia lost points to Martin for the third consecutive race after slipping from pole position to third in the MotoGP sprint at Sepang. 

Bagnaia appeared to be in complete control at the mid-race point, but that was far from the case as Alex Marquez soon came through to take the lead.

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A block pass at turn nine then left Bagnaia vulnerable to title rival Jorge Martin, before the Pramac rider came through five corners later.

Bagnaia immediately lost touch with the front two and instead dropped into the clutches of team-mate Enea Bastianini.

Asked what went wrong during the race, Bagnaia told MotoGP.com: “Something that I don’t understand. Thanks to the sprint we will have data for the race tomorrow. 

“But my feeling was not the same. Already from the start [of the race] compared to yesterday and this morning. We will check and it’s something to improve. 

“The pace at the start was quite good but then I started struggling a lot with the front. It was hard to stop and enter the corner fast.”

Bagnaia’s disappointing result came just hours after running a very good pace in practice and qualifying.

A new all-time lap record was set by the reigning MotoGP champion en route to pole position, his seventh of the campaign. 

But Bagnaia knows that racing is the most important and that clawing points back against Martin is a must. 

Bagnaia added: “Pole position is always a fantastic place to be and is very positive. We have to be happy and doing the all-time lap record is something to be proud of. 

“Pole position is okay but it’s more important to finish the race at the front. We need to take some points from Jorge.”