SEPANG: MotoGP Championship leader Francesco Bagnaia is hoping to carry the strong form he showed at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia to the Qatar GP next week.
The Ducati Lenovo rider finished third in both the sprint and main races at Sepang, slightly extending his lead to 14 points over second-placed Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing).
Bagnaia, better known by his nickname Pecco, said he was pleased with the outright pace they were able to achieve in Malaysia.
Ducati teammate Enea Bastianini won today's main race. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing) finished second while Martin placed fourth.
"I'm happy, we managed to finally find back our performance. The last time I was in pole position was in Barcelona," said Bagnaia during the post race presser today.
"The most important thing was to finish in front of Jorge. It was important to beat him for (ahead of) Qatar and get one more point than when we started.
"14 points (advantage) is not much but is better than nothing.
"If it was a normal season (without sprint races) it would be a good gap but with 37 points on offer each weekend it's a small gap.
"In Qatar it is important to start working like we did this weekend and try to understand everything by Friday.
"Perhaps be on pole and push like we did today."
Bagnaia added that Qatar will be a new experience for all riders as the track has been resurfaced while the tire pressure regulations will also play a factor.