Francesco Bagnaia won the FIM MotoGP World Championship race Sunday at Sepang, in Malaysia. Riding his Lenovo Team Ducati Desmosedici on Michelin control tires, the Italian won the 19-lap race by over 3.141 seconds.
The Championship point leader, Jorge Martin was the runner-up on his Prima Pramac Racing Ducati Desmosedici.
Bagnaia’s teammate, Enea Bastianini placed third.
Alex Marquez crossed the finish line fourth on his Gresini Racing Ducati Desmosedici.
For the championship, Bagnaia is 24 points behind his principal rival Martin who has 485 points. M.Marquez is third with 369 points.
Classification motogp race sepang
More, from a press release issued by Dorna:
The greatest battle ever? The title fight rolls on as Bagnaia defeats Martin in all-timer at Sepang. Francesco Bagnaia clinched a stunning victory in Malaysia, allowing his title hopes to roll on after defeating Jorge Martin in an unforgettable duel.
Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has kept his World Championship hopes alive at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia. It was a sensational ride from the #1, putting down the hammer after a breathtaking duel with Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) in the opening laps. The #89 went head-to-head with Bagnaia, battling hard at the start of the Grand Prix before finishing in second and rounding out an incredible weekend at the Petronas Sepang International Circuit. It was a huge day for the Championship, with Martin’s advantage now reduced to just 24 points as the title fight now rolls onto the final round.
Behind them, Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) was able to grab the final spot on the podium in a crucial day for ‘The Beast’, who moved a step closer as he continues his fight for third position in the Championship. Bastianini took solid points on Sunday, finishing 10.484s adrift from teammate Bagnaia in a Grand Prix which will be remembered.
Once the lights went out, it was an incredible launch from Bagnaia, charging into the lead at Turn 1 – pushing Martin down to second. However, a crash at Turn 2 involving Fabio Quartararo, Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) and Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) would bring out the red flag.
The Grand Prix was restarted, with Bagnaia claiming an incredible launch, catapulting into the lead on the run to Turn 1. Martin slotted into second position, with Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) battling into the podium places on Lap 1. Martin made his first move on the opening lap, with the Bagnaia instantly responding as the title fight kicked into another gear.
Bagnaia and Martin continued to lock horns on the circuit, trading places and trading blows in the opening stages of a spectacular Malaysian GP. At the front, the tension was high as the lead continued to swap hands at every opportunity, with just inches separating them on the circuit. Paint was exchanged between the title rivals in the opening stages, with Marc Marquez watching from behind in third place.
It was a true spectacle, with the two title contenders stirring up an incredible fight for the Malaysian crowd. Bagnaia put the hammer down on Lap 5, clocking the fastest lap before stretching his gap to nearly one second. The pace was extremely hot, which would see Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) crash at the tricky Turn 9 before Marc Marquez suffered a crash later in the lap, crashing out of P3 at Turn 15.
Bastianini was now promoted to the podium positions and was provisionally promoted to third in the Championship. ‘The Beast’ had a consistent rhythm, running ahead of Alex Marquez(Gresini Racing MotoGP™) on the circuit, as the #73 continued to fend off Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) for P4.
Martin’s momentum began to build, with the Championship leader edging closer to Bagnaia in every sector, soon decreasing the gap to 1.5s. However, the #89 made a crucial mistake at Turn 9 – dropping a further eight-tenths behind. Tension was high in the closing laps, with remaining focused being the ask to Martin from Prima Pramac Racing.
Bagnaia remained unstoppable, crossing the line to win by 3.141s on a critical day in the 2024 MotoGP™ World Champion. The Italian’s victory will allow #TheRematch to roll on after defeating Martin in Malaysia. The #89 worked hard throughout the Grand Prix, sitting on a 24 point advantage after beating Bastianini, who rounded out the podium rostrum in P3.
Alex Marquez claimed fourth, with the #73 continuing to defend from Acosta in the closing stages of the Grand Prix. 1.469s separated the duo at the line as Quartararo heroically finished inside the top six after a stunning ride from the Frenchman on the restart. The #20 placed ahead of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) and Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™ teammate Alex Rins as the #42 grabbed eighth.
The final spots on the top 10 spots were taken by Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) and Augusto Fernandez (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) as Johann Zarco (CASTROL Honda LRC) bagged 11th. Marc Marquez charged to 12th, ending a strong recovery ride with points as Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing), Morbidelli, and Luca Marini (Repsol Honda Team) scored the final point on Sunday.
After Bagnaia was able to keep his title hopes in reach this weekend, it leaves everything to be decided at the finale! Make sure you keep up to date on motogp.com to find out the latest news regarding the final round of the season.
More, from a press release issued by Lenovo Ducati:
Double podium for the Ducati Lenovo Team at Sepang. Francesco Bagnaia takes his tenth win of the season at Sepang, Enea Bastianini is third
Jorge Martín is second aboard Pramac Racing Team’s Ducati machine. Alex Márquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) is fourth
New record for Ducati as it reaches a tally of eighteen wins in a single MotoGP season
Francesco Bagnaia and the Ducati Lenovo Team have taken the win in today Malaysian Gran Prix at the Sepang International Circuit. Enea Bastianini has completed the podium in third place. The race was contested over a 19-lap distance following a three-way crash at turn two in the opening lap, which led to a red flag situation.
At the restart, Bagnaia entered a spectacular battle with Martín for the lead that lasted until lap four, when the former was able to pull away on the rival. Pecco then managed his margin up the chequered flag, becoming the sixth rider in the history of the premier class to win ten races in a single season, courtesy of what was his 50th career MotoGP podium. Bagnaia also sets the new record for the overall number of wins since the introduction of the sprint race – eighteen.
Bastianini managed to make up one position at the start but struggled to get past Morbidelli in the opening stages of the race. Enea eventually managed to do so on lap six as he moved up one more place following Marc Marquez’s crash to cross the line a lonely third.
As the nineteenth Grand Prix of the season draws to a close, Bagnaia is second in the championship standings with a 24-point gap to Martín. Bastianini is fourth, one point away from Marc Márquez.
The final event of the 2024 MotoGP season will take place on November 15-17 at Montmeló’s ‘Circuit de Barcelona – Catalunya’, the venue chosen for the final round after the tragic events that have been affecting the Valencian community since the start of the week.
Francesco Bagnaia (#1 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 1st
“Our pace today was really competitive, as it often happened on Sunday this year. Jorge (Martín) did all he could to stay in front of me in the early stages, but I was feeling very comfortable aboard the bike and was able to be a lot more aggressive. The only problem is that our pace was stronger than our rivals and that surely didn’t play in our favour. We need to understand why we can’t perform as good in the sprint races: this is an area we need to work on for the future, but right now we must focus on the final event of the season and try to do our best. This is our tenth Sunday win of the season and, which proves how excellent of a job we’ve done this year.”
Enea Bastianini (#23 Ducati Lenovo Team) – 3rd
“It was a challenging race, even more than yesterday given the higher temperatures, and I kept struggling on corner entry. We tried to make a step forward in the warmup, but we didn’t manage to do so. When things go this way, it’s important to bring the bike home and on one hand, things played out in our favour as we could finish on the podium. Now the last event awaits us, and I’d like to dedicate this podium to the Valencian community that needs all our support in these extremely difficult times.”
Luigi Dall’Igna – Ducati Corse General Manager
“Obviously our thoughts go first to the Valencian Community, who’s enduring a very dramatic moment. They need all the support, and I hope the situation will improve as soon as possible. Speaking of the race, it was fantastic. The battle between Pecco and Jorge in the opening laps was outstanding and a very clean one. Both riders rode perfectly, and I must congratulate them on their performance as they delivered some incredible excitement. It was nice to see Enea also on the podium, despite the issues he had with the front-end. He did an excellent job in scoring the best possible result and we’ll try to put him in the right conditions to do well in the final race of the season.”