Martin wins Malaysian GP Sprint race as Bagnaia crashes out, Martin puts one hand on the title
Jorge Martin took the victory in the MotoGP Malaysian Sprint Race, putting one hand on the world championship as Francesco Bagnaia crashed out of the race at Turn 9.
After talk of a potential race star delay due to some light rain, which got heavier, the FIM would confirm a regular start for the race. This early rain, may have played a crucial role in the development of the world championship, as Bagnaia crashed out of the race early on.
Martin would get the jump on Bagnaia at the very beginning of the race, taking an early lead into Turn 1 and maintaining the inside line, making it much more difficult for Bagnaia to reclaim the lead, as the Italian squirted the throttle several times through the long right-hander of Turn 1, waiting for a gap to open up underneath his championship rival.
Martin led Bagnaia at the end of Lap 1, with Marc Marquez right behind his future teammate in third place, extremely close to the pair of them. The trio set an extraordinary early pace, all going into the 1:57.000’s consistently, as the tyre grip started to wear out after a number of laps.
Francesco Bagnaia would crash out of the Malaysian Sprint race at Turn 9, the front washing out from underneath the reigning champion at the apex of the corner, suggesting that Bagnaia’s Ducati touched the white line, which may have been a touch slippery after the earlier rain.
Bagnaia’s reaction said everything, his head in his hands and seemingly in a state of disbelief. The reigning champion is now 29 points down on Jorge Martin, with two Grands Prix remaining and one more Sprint race. However, Jorge Martin could actually win the World Championship on Sunday at the Malaysian Grand Prix, if Martin wins and Bagnaia finishes off the podium.
With Bagnaia crashing out, and the threat of rain, the riders remained relatively intelligent in knowing where to push around the Sepang International Circuit, remaining cautious. This did lead to somewhat larger gaps between the riders.
Jorge Martin would claim victory in the Malaysian Sprint Race, putting one hand on the championship trophy as Francesco Bagnaia slips to almost 30 points adrift, with just 72 points maximum in the championship, with two Grands Prix and a Sprint Race yet to come.
Marc Marquez would finish second after an impressive race, remaining a safe distance and not troubling his compatriot Jorge Martin for the lead at all. Enea Bastianini would round out the podium places after an impressive ride, just a couple of seconds adrift from the leading duo.
Meanwhile, Alex Marquez would finish in fourth place, followed somewhat surprisingly by Fabio Quartararo, who scored one of Yamaha’s best results of the season with a strong Top 5 finish. Franco Morbidelli would finish sixth, with the KTM trio of Brad Binder, Jack Miller and Pedro Acosta completing the riders that finished inside the points.
The MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix gets underway on Sunday morning in the UK, with Francesco Bagnaia needing to finish inside the Top 2 to take the fight into the final race. Martin on the other hand, could be crowned a MotoGP World Champion tomorrow, if Bagnaia fails his task of finishing in the leading two places.
MotoGP Malaysian Sprint Race – Results
1st Jorge Martin, Prima Pramac
2nd Marc Marquez, Gresini Racing
3rd Enea Bastianini, Ducati
4th Alex Marquez, Gresini Racing
5th Fabio Quartararo, Yamaha
6th Franco Morbidelli, Prima Pramac
7th Brad Binder, Red Bull Factory KTM
8th Jack Miller, Red Bull Factory KTM
9th Pedro Acosta, Red Bull GasGas KTM
10th Marco Bezzecchi, VR46 Racing
11th Alex Rins, Yamaha
12th Aleix Espargaro, Aprilia
13th Augusto Fernandez, Red Bull GasGas KTM
14th Maverick Vinales, Aprilia
15th Luca Marini, Repsol Honda
16th Joan Mir, Repsol Honda
17th Takaaki Nakagami, LCR Honda
18th Raul Fernandez, Trackhouse Racing
19th Andrea Iannone, VR46 Racing
20th Lorenzo Savadori, Trackhouse Racing
DNF Johann Zarco, LCR Honda
DNF Francesco Bagnaia, Ducati
Featured Image: Red Bull Content Pool
