Mahindra Racing's Bagnaia Bags Pole Position In Malaysia

  • Nov 1, 2016
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This is the third win for Bagnaia in this Moto3 season, and it puts him back in the third position of overall championship standings

Francesco Bagnaia popping a wheelie

It was a great weekend for Aspar Mahindra Team Moto3 as rider Francesco Bagnaia claimed a pole finish at the Malaysian Grand Prix in the ongoing 2016 Moto3 season. The challenging race had the Italian rider taking the lead on lap two as three riders fell out of the leading group, which made him the sole survivor during the second lap of the race. As his closest rivals joined an ever-growing crash list, Bagnaia managed to create a good lead from the other riders. However, he did face close competition from Czech rider Jakub Kornfeil of team Honda, followed by Netherland racer Bo Bendsneyder of team KTM. Taking the chequered flag, Bagnaia’s victory was a massive gap of 7.108 seconds.

Out of the 31 riders at the start of the race, Bagnaia was among the remaining 17 on the track as others had either fallen or been a victim of someone else’s crash. The race was scheduled for 18 laps but was shortened to 14 laps as more than the required two-third distance was covered. Results were considered on the basis of the positions on lap 13 of the race. 

Speaking on his win, Francesco Bagnaia, said: “I think this is the hardest race of my life. I was pushing to my best. When I saw I had opened the gap to second I thought I needed to concentrate more and I focused on the win. To win today is a great result after a sometimes tough season, especially recently. This is the third win for Mahindra and my second win, truly an amazing feeling for me.”

Francesco Bagnaia

Jorge Martin, who is the second rider for team Aspar Mahindra, and teammate to Bagnaia, was one of the many crash victims involved in a multi-bike accident in the first lap. After the crash, the Spanish rider did manage to get back on his feet but had to be later helicoptered to a hospital to investigate a concussion.

The Sepang International Circuit is a 5.543 km track located close to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport. The win in Malaysia is the third for Mahindra in this season, hereby making the only Indian constructor a strong contender in the World Championship. The season comes to an end at Valencia in two weeks.

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