Heat and Bad Luck End Mario's and Taiyo's Chances

It has been a tough race. Mario and Taiyo started back on the grid, making the situation even more complicated. When the race started, Taiyo's pace was good, catching the front group with the option to fight for a good final position. But, unfortunately, at lap 4, a multi-crash happened in front of him, and to avoid being involved, he changed the laine and crashed. Mario struggled with the rear grip and couldn't make his pace, fighting but finishing in P19. The balance of the weekend isn't good, but we should go ahead next weekend in Qatar.

The race here in Sepang hasn't finished as we expected. After just five laps, I had a big issue because the rear tire temperature increased over the limits, which made it difficult to accelerate in all the corners, especially in the hairpin. With this heat, I struggled to get the speed. But I should take the positive learnings of this weekend. Even if it's not enough, I improved my lap time considerably compared to last year's race. I couldn't be happier about my race of today. Qatar is an entirely different kind of track; I will keep focus for next weekend's race there.

I made a good start, gaining some positions on the first lap, overtaking many riders and trying to catch the front group. My pace was good, and I had clear options to be there. But I crashed to avoid a multi-crash of four riders. That crash is a shame, but some positive points of this weekend could help us in the next race.