MotoGP Sepang: Bagnaia ‘calm, I know our potential’

Ducati Lenovo’s Pecco Bagnaia could be on course for his maiden MotoGP World Championship this weekend as 2022 sees the action return to Malaysia.

A dominant comeback from a 91-point deficit at the start of the summer now finds the Italian 14 clear of reigning champion Fabio Quartararo with just Sepang and Valencia left to play out. And with the Desmosedici’s strong run of form in recent races, he’s looking like the firm favourite as Malaysia prepares for round 19.

“In this moment, I’m quite calm,” Bagnaia said from the pre-event press conference on Thursday. “Finally I know that our potential can be high. If we continue working like we did in the second half of the season, we can do a really good job. The main question here is the weather because it looks like it can rain on Saturday and Sunday, but let’s see.

“Doing 20 laps here with this heat and in wet can be very dangerous, very tricky and it’s more easy to commit mistakes.

“Also I think that I’m more competitive on dry than on wet. It’s always very difficult to predict the weather here, but I think, if we work well, we have a great possibility.”

While the pressure to perform for his first premier class victory may be high, it’s not just that statistic that is on the cards.

“An Italian has not won the MotoGP title since 2009, and Ducati has not won the [riders’] title since 2007,” he confirmed. “It would be my first title in MotoGP so, for sure, the pressure is there. I feel that I’ll start having the pressure, but in this moment, I’m quite happy.

“I know that we did something really good this year, but we still have to finish the job and my main focus in this moment is on that.”

“My season is totally different compared to 2018,” Bagnaia reflected, after clinching his