Francesco Bagnaia’s Calculated Last-Lap Gamble: The Rain Risk That Nearly Cost Him the Japan MotoGP Sprint Victory

Francesco Bagnaia discusses the "risk" he took on the final lap that nearly lost him the Japan MotoGP sprint victory. 'Perhaps I eased off a little too much,' he admits.

Francesco Bagnaia mentioned that during the final lap of the MotoGP Japanese Grand Prix sprint, the rain caused him to significantly reduce his speed, nearly jeopardizing his win.

In the Motegi sprint, the world champion started from the second position and maintained the lead for the initial two laps. However, on the third lap, pole-sitter Pedro Acosta overtook him, and it seemed likely that the champion would finish in second place by the end of the race.

A mishap on the ninth lap out of 12 for the Tech3 rider enabled Bagnaia to reclaim the lead. As he embarked on the last lap, he had a 1.3-second advantage, thanks to a fierce duel between Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez occurring behind him.

On the last lap, Bagnaia significantly reduced his speed and crossed the finish line just 0.181 seconds ahead of Bastianini.

Bagnaia, discussing what he referred to as a "risk" taken during the final lap, expressed to TNT Sport that securing first place is incredible, and he is extremely pleased.

On the final lap, I decided to take a chance by possibly reducing my speed more than necessary, but I had everything under control. I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

As the rain began to fall during the final lap, I noticed I had a lead of 1.3 seconds. I thought to myself, "I have some leeway, so I can reduce my speed by a second." I did just that, and it worked out fine.

He stated, "In comparison to Mandalika, where I faced challenges and found it hard to enhance my performance from day one, I believe we performed much better."

"From the beginning of the weekend during the first practice session, I felt significantly improved on this track. Today presented additional challenges due to the rain and some remaining wet spots."

In parc ferme, Bagnaia disclosed that he had to finish the race using a reduced power setting to conserve fuel, as he consumed extra during the sighting lap while assessing the conditions before the race began.

He explained that they intentionally compromised some performance during the race to gain a clearer understanding of the conditions beforehand, choosing not to rely on the map to reduce speed.

"I completed the entire race with a reduced power map, but everything went smoothly."

In 2024, Bagnaia secured his third consecutive sprint victory, while Jorge Martin achieved his fourth win after beginning the race in 11th position. As a result, the Italian rider has reduced his gap in the championship standings to just 15 points.

Acosta's accident resulted in Bagnaia earning three additional points, which he would not have received if the Tech3 competitor had completed the sprint with a victory.

Nevertheless, Bagnaia anticipates that Acosta will be a competitor in the grand prix on Sunday.

"It was extremely challenging to take the lead today," he remarked.

Pedro was performing exceptionally well in my opinion. When I witnessed his crash, I thought to myself, "Alright, it's time to accelerate for two or three laps to widen the lead over Enea, and then manage the race from there."

"Acosta was really pushing hard, trying to gain an edge, but it seems he went into that turn a little too quickly on that particular lap. Nonetheless, we should be prepared for his performance in tomorrow's race."

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