English
Italiano
Sepang was a weekend that held some surprises and some confirmations. Enea Bastianini returned to the top step of the podium after a difficult season marked by injuries and a bike with which he had difficulty finding an understanding.
The Italian's race was dominated from the first to the very last lap, as he defended himself from the attacks of a very aggressive Alex Marquez, who was very fast throughout the weekend. Shortly behind, the close battle between the two rivals in the race for the 2023 title, Bagnaia and Martin, continued. Pecco prevailed over the Spaniard by showing his muscles with a magnificent overtake on the outside, while the Spaniard rode in defence also due to the tyre pressure penalty.
A sanction which was imposed on both Ducati factory riders at the end of the race, a sign of Ducati's intelligent strategy implemented on the Malaysian circuit. Bagnaia thus gained two points in the standings, and with four races remaining in the season the challenge for the title enters its final phase.
Fabio Quartararo is the only moral winner of the rival manufacturers of Ducati, as he put his Yamaha ahead of the Ducatis of Bezzecchi, Di Giannantonio and Marini, while Aprilia went unnoticed, and Honda is now busy thinking about its future. Last on the list of possible replacements for Marc Marquez's former seat now seems to be Luca Marini tempted by the challenge that the move to the historic Japanese manufacturer represents.
Below are Carlo Pernat's immediate comments:
"It was an important race here in Malaysia, and the title is still in the balance, Pecco gained two points on Martin this weekend. Important points in any case, each point now weighs three times as much. An extraordinary victory for Bastianini, who wanted this result with all his strength, finally finding the feeling with this bike.
He started in the lead and defended his position until the end from Alex Marquez's attacks. Alex was one of the strongest riders this weekend, achieving his best results ever. Two good podiums also for Bagnaia, while Martin raced facing the risk of penalties for tyre pressure. Ducati instead played smart with tyre pressure, and both its riders received a warning at the end of the race.
Between us, I think it's a stupid rule that limits the potential of the riders, and the penalties are too severe, from 3 to 9 seconds, with still 4 races to go. This rule could play an important role in the title chase, but it has been the rule for some races now. Once again, it was Ducati domination with four bikes in the lead, and Quartararo very good in finishing fifth. Fabio, with his Yamaha, was competitive right from free practice and managed to finish ahead of some Ducatis, including those of Bezzecchi who was still having some difficulties, Di Giannantonio and Marini.
However, it wasn't a good result for the Aprilias, Aleix crashed several times and Vinales wasn't up to par. It's all a bit embarrassing for Aprilia, which is still struggling to compete for the top places. As for Honda, the only remaining topic is the discussion of the rider market, now it seems that Marini is in negotiations for Marc Marquez's place. Honestly, making these types of decisions in the middle of November is unprofessional, I'm baffled that it comes from historic manufacturer Honda. See you in the heat of Malaysia!"
