MotoGP rookie Pecco Bagnaia stunned the Sepang paddock today, setting the second quickest time of the test and only 0.063s behind fastest man Danilo Petrucci.
The young Spaniard had set a target of a sub-2'00 man in Malaysia but ended up going half a second underneath Jorge Lorenzo's outright lap record, saying an ability to brake harder had been a major contribution to his pace.
“We make good work over these days and now I understand more things on the bike, most of all how to ride it. It is completely different riding style to Moto2, you have to pick up to use more the traction of the bike,” said Bagnaia, speaking at the track.
“Today, is possible to ride more like a MotoGP rider. The target was under two minutes and what I have done is important for us but we need to concentrate more on the pace.”
Bagnaia now wants to concentrate more on his race pace as, even though he isn't experiencing excessive tyre wear, he knows that can change under race conditions.
“For sure in the braking now I can very hard. In Jerez it has been difficult for me but now it is a key for me breaking the 1’59. I have seen that I don’t use too much the tyres but in the race you never know.
“When you are half a second better in the pace, you will use more the tyres but our objective in Qatar will be to be constant with a good grip.”
