SEPANG: Francesco Bagnaia was left to rue his luck after crashing out of the sprint race in only the second lap at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia today (Nov 2).
The Ducati Lenovo rider lowsided at turn nine whilst in second position behind championship leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac).
Bagnaia, better known by his nickname Pecco, said he crashed despite taking a cautious approach at the left turn.
"In the first lap, I arrived at turn nine a bit too aggresive and had a lot of movement in the front but I didn't crash," said Bagnaia.
"In the second lap I approached the turn a bit slower though I touched a bump at the apex of the corner and I lost the front.
"It was not a new bump, I have gone over it many, many times in the past and never crashed. There is always a first time and unfortunately it happened at the wrong moment."
Martin went on to win the sprint race and extended his advantage over Bagnaia from 17 to 29 points. He will win the championship title if he finishes tomorrow's main race with nine points more than Bagnaia.
Bagnaia said he will have no choice but to go all out for the win tomorrow but is also hoping his teammate Enea Bastianini and Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing) can play a role.
"Tomorrow, like always, we will go full send and try to win it," added Bagnaia.
"But giving my maximum to win is not enough, we need more (than that).
"I really hope Marc and Enea will be able to find something to be close to us (Bagnaia and Martin).
"Because right now, in the worst situation (for Martin), I think Jorge will finish second because we don't have any rivals."
Bagnaia added that he has found it tough to find consistency in the sprint races this season, admitting that Martin has been the better rider on Saturdays this year.