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Pecco Bagnaia ended his first test day in Sepang in 17th position, with more than a second from Fabio Quartararo's Yamaha. However, the priority wasn't to watch the chronometer but to go hunting for the best sensations before the start of the Championship. Pecco was confident and, at the same time, aware about the work carried out on this first day on Malaysian soil. "The job today was to sacrifice ourselves by riding with tires that weren't quite right," he began. "Unfortunately, there are only few tires available for us to be able to figure out something good, but we still managed to select the best right way and, in the end, it was a positive day. I saw several riders do the time attack, and I'm glad that Marc did as well, so we'll have more data to analyze tonight. Today was a peculiar day but, in the end, we understood the direction to go. At the beginning, it seemed more complicated but, instead, we have the same confidence. We'll still have more work tomorrow because of the tires."
What's your opinion on the GP25?
"The GP25 has very good power, it's extremely firm, and downloads the power to the ground well. However, the GP24 has extremely strong braking, and this one isn't on par with the previous one. We did a lot of work on it, though, and it was all very positive."
Unfortunately, tires were limited today.
"This was a day you had to sacrifice yourself. In fact, you had to ride with a harder tire. However, these are rules and must be respected. Jorge's tire was probably not up to temperature, and falling like that is bad. I also feel sorry for Fernandez, sincne three riders are out of the tests. Then there's also Diggia, who was crucial for us. In fact, Fabio was the only one with the same bike as us, and tried the new fairing today, but he was very happy on the braking. We, on the other hand, focused more on the engine."
You mentioned Martin, the victim of a bad crash on his return from the break.
"I know things like that can happen. He was unlucky, because he fell first, then he came back to the pit and grll again with the tire that was not up to temperature. It reminds me of Marc's fall in 2019, since he had ended up fslling in the same way. Obviously, I hope to see him back on track soon, maybe in the tests in Thailand or at the first race. Unfortunately Jorge fell in the worst way, and I hope people remember that it's not easy to ride these bikes."
Pecco, as we know, the engine will be frozen until 2026. How much does it affect all this?
"Unfortunately, we don't have a lot of time. Consequently, the most important thing is to understand the engine, building on what has happened in the past. The GP24 was an incredible bike in some aspects, while this new one has a very good power. Personally, I think I have a pretty clear idea and know what to do. In my opinion, we need to work on the set-up."
Did the presence of the wind have an affect?
"After we ride at Phillip Island, the wind here is nothing. It's a bit annoying, but not that much."
You're behind in the rankings.
"If you only look at the times today, you probably don't quite understand how I approach the tests. I'm certainly not worried about my time attack."
What has changed compared to Barcelona?
"Compared to Barcelona, the bike is similar, but improved in some aspects, like in delivery, but we need to improve braking and entry, because the GP25 isn't at the level of the 2024 bike."
