Pecco Bagnaia WINS the Sunday MotoGP race in Malaysia and makes up a few points! Marc Marquez crashes out
After a dramatic Sprint race yesterday, Pecco Bagnaia manages to partially bounce back and triumphs at the Sepang International Circuit! The Italian rider’s victory was only challenged by Jorge Martin (2nd place): no one else matches the speed of these two title contenders, who are now clearly a level above the rest of the grid.
Third place went to Enea Bastianini: the Italian rider capitalized on Marc Marquez’s crash (Marquez was near the podium when he fell) and took his second podium of the weekend, following yesterday’s Sprint. Behind him were Alex Marquez, Pedro Acosta, and Fabio Quartararo in sixth place.
Race Highlights
THE START – After a red flag (HERE is the recap of what happened, with Jack Miller taken to the medical center), the race restarted: an epic battle erupted between Jorge Martin and Pecco Bagnaia from the very first corner in one of the most thrilling duels in recent years. Overtakes, counterattacks, and even a fairing clash down the straight: the two pushed each other to the limit, with Pecco ultimately prevailing after the opening laps.
Two critical crashes occurred between laps 6 and 8: Morbidelli fell first, followed by Marc Marquez, who was chasing Martin in third place. This gave a big assist in the championship to Enea Bastianini, who moved up to third behind the two title rivals.
Up front, however, Bagnaia continued to extend his lead: the gap between him and Martin reached 2 seconds, with Pecco using soft front tires compared to Martin’s medium. Two mistakes by number 89 handed victory to Pecco: the points gap in the standings has now dropped to 24, still too wide for an evenly matched title fight in the season finale.
Photo: Ducati Corse
