MotoGP: Barcelona Race Will Be Tricky - Bagnaia

SEPANG, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Reigning MotoGP world champion Francesco Bagnaia, has expressed caution regarding his chances of winning both the sprint and main races in the season finale, likely to take place in Barcelona.

Bagnaia or commonly known as Pecco acknowledged the challenges of the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, where he experienced a crash last June.

 "We know that it’s quite difficult, but in Barcelona, anything can happen. The conditions will also be tougher because it will be cold, and corners 2 and 5 are particularly tricky,” he told a post 2024 Malaysian Grand Prix (GP) race press conference here, today.

With his recent victory at the Sepang International Circuit here, Bagnaia has kept his hopes of defending the MotoGP World Championships alive, claiming his 10th title of the season.

This crucial win has narrowed the gap in the championship standings to just 24 points behind leader Jorge Martin of Prima Pramac Racing.

Currently, Bagnaia sits in second place in the 2024 MotoGP World Championship standings with 461 points, while Martin leads with 485 points.

The 27-year-old Bagnaia also felt undeterred heading into the main race in Sepang, despite crashing out of the sprint race yesterday.

“In terms of mental side, I was not scared about today, I was fully confident and knowing that I was to able to fight for the win,” he said.

Meanwhile, Martin is determined not to make it easy for Bagnaia, as he sets his sights on winning the final race and being crowned the new MotoGP world champion.

The Spaniard, who needs at least 14 points to secure a maiden MotoGP world champion title, also said it was a privilege and ‘crazy’ for him to battle until the end with the two-time world champion Bagnaia.

Earlier today, Dorna Sports Chief Sporting Officer Carlos Ezpeleta said they were currently in discussion with the Catalonia government to hold the last race in Barcelona, with the confirmation within the next 48 hours.

The last race of the season, which was supposed to take place in Valencia, Spain, on Nov 15 to 17, has been cancelled due to heavy flooding.

-- BERNAMA