Bagnaia shatters lap time record again to claim pole position in Sepang

SEPANG: Defending world champion, Francesco Bagnaia has obliterated an all-lap time record in Sepang International Circuit (SIC), here, to grab pole position in the 2024 Malaysian Motorcycle Grand Prix, today.

In a thrilling conclusion to today’s qualifying round, the Ducati Lenovo Team rider, who was trailing in second place behind current championship leader Jorge Martin of Prima Pramac Racing, seized the final lap to shatter his own all-time lap record of 1 minute 57.491 seconds from last year, with a new mark of 1:56.337 seconds.

Martin, on the other hand, will begin the race tomorrow in second spot with 1:56.553 and will be joined by Alex Marquez from Gresini Racing MotoGP with 1:57.275s for the prime spot on the grid.

In addition to tomorrow’s full race, today’s results saw all riders secure their positions on the grid for the sprint race slated to be held later today.

The sprint race, introduced for the first time in the premier class last season, consists of half the number of laps compared to tomorrow’s race.

It also awards championship points differently from the full race, with 12 points to the winner, going all the way down to one point for the top nine finishers.