Sepang became a damage-limitation race for Pecco Bagnaia. The Ducati rider finished 13th, 32.9 seconds behind team-mate and winner Marc Marquez. His loss of pace was starkest on the final lap, when he recorded 2m 5.1s—more than four and a half seconds slower than his own best lap earlier in the race, and slower than the Moto2 pace as well.

Bagnaia traced the collapse to a lack of grip. He said that after five laps he had effectively used up the rear tyre and had to ride with little more than the finish in mind. By the final lap, he added, he could no longer get his knee down through the right-hand corners. That was why he called the lap time “unbelievable”: it was far removed from the level he knows he can reach at the Malaysian circuit.

The missing change

The most cryptic part of Bagnaia’s explanation concerned a change made between the Misano test and the Japanese Grand Prix the previous season. He said it involved more than setup or basic electronic calibration, and that it had allowed him to ride properly again. In Bagnaia’s account, that change is no longer present and has been missing since the race following Japan.

The Ducati rider stressed that neither major setup adjustments nor adding or removing power through the electronics had solved the issue, which he said had continued throughout the year. Ducati team manager Davide Tardozzi said he did not know what Bagnaia was referring to. Tardozzi added that the team had done everything it could, but had still not found what the rider needed. With three rounds remaining, Bagnaia said he would try to do his maximum as Ducati looks for a way to recover his performance.