Francesco Bagnaia Talks About The Difficulty Of The Mandalika Circuit

Francesco Bagnaia (second from the right) admits that the Mandalika Circuit is difficult (VOI/Cosmas Kopong Beda).

JAKARTA The defending MotoGP champion from Italy, Francesco Bagnaia, said the last two corners of the Mandalika Circuit were the most difficult challenges to face.

The rider who is familiarly called Pecco will be on track in the 15th series race of the season on Sunday, September 29, 2024. He needs a win there to keep the chance of winning this season.

Bagnaia said that the Indonesian pride circuit was not an easy track to dominate, especially at the last turns which had a narrow angle so that drivers were required to be vigilant.

"In my opinion, the most difficult challenges in the last two corners because there is a bend to the right elongated and cannot brake hard because the angle of the motor tilt is quite large. In addition, the last corner is very narrow and sharp. It is quite difficult," said Bagnaia.

Bagnaia, who won the Mandalika Grand Prix last season, is currently still in second place in the drivers' standings. He followed Jorge Martin who was in the top position.

Of the total 14 series that have been undertaken, Bagnaia managed to collect a total of 317 points or 24 points adrift of Jorge Martin.

Bagnaia also hopes that he can repeat last season's sweet moments so as to cut points with rivals to maintain the opportunity to defend his title.

"I hope this weekend's race at Mandalika can go well without any problems. We have to work to get performance and try to win," he said.

The 27-year-old racer came to Mandalika with bad capital, especially the previous series in Emilia Romagna, he had to go home empty-handed.

This happened because he fell during the remaining seven laps of the race. As a result, he only got 10 points from winning the Sprint Race the day before on Saturday, September 21, 2024.

This season, Bagnaia is still the rider with the most wins. Of the 14 series he has undertaken, he has won a total of six times, far ahead of the new Jorge Martin with two wins.