SEPANG: Defending champion Francesco Bagnaia got off his 2024 Malaysia Motorcycle Grand Prix (MotoGP) campaign with a flying start by emerging as the fastest rider in Free Practice 1 (FP1) at Sepang International Circuit here today.
The Ducati Lenovo Team rider took the top spot in 1 minute 58.795 seconds (s) and left behind Maverick Vinales of Aprilia Racing with +0.743s while Marco Bezzecchi from Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team came in third with (1:59.848s).
British rider Jake Dixon of CFMOTO Aspar Team clocked 2:06.255s to lead the chart in Moto2 free practice session.
Japanese rider Ai Ogura, racing for MT Helmets – MSI, was second best with 2:06.461s and Marcos Ramirez of OnlyFans American Racing Team earned third place (2:06.589).
However, Malaysian riders Muhammad Helmi Azman and Khairul Idham Pawi, who competed under wildcard tickets for PETRONAS MIE Racing RW, failed to shine, finishing in 29th place (2:09.55s) and 32nd place (2:10.195s), respectively.
Moto3 action saw Angel Piqueras of Leopard Racing make an excellent start to dominate the free practice session with 2:23.835s, ahead of David Almansa from Kopron Rivacold Snipers Team 2:24.355s in second place and BOE Motorsports rider David Munoz (2:24.387s) in third place.
