The Italian received the penultimate MotoGP at Sepang to drive a showdown within the ultimate spherical of the championship with Jorge Martín on November 17.
Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia stored his MotoGP title protection alive with a victory on the Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang, lowering Jorge Martin’s lead within the riders’ standings to 24 factors heading into the ultimate race of the season.
Pramac Racing’s Martin’s second place at Sepang took him to 485 factors within the total standings, whereas Bagnaia is second on 461. Bagnaia’s teammate Enea Bastianini completed third in Sunday’s race, greater than seven Martin seconds.
After a chaotic begin, the race on the Sepang Worldwide Circuit resumed for 19 laps underneath darkish clouds and in sweltering situations.
Polesitter Bagnaia obtained a clear begin off the road and held the lead into the primary flip.
In an exhilarating first three laps, Bagnaia and Martin threw warning to the wind and went toe-to-toe at each nook because the lead regularly modified fingers between the 2 title rivals.
Bagnaia, who had dedicated on Saturday to provide his all within the race, lastly managed to place some area between himself and Martin on the fourth lap, a bonus he didn’t wish to surrender.
The victory additionally helped Bagnaia restrict a few of the injury from his crash in Saturday’s dash.
“Actually, managing the warmth at present was the simplest half,” mentioned Bagnaia, whose win was his tenth of the season.
“Jorge was very aggressive. However our tempo was too good and, as all the time, in Sunday’s race I can assault, I could be extra aggressive.
“We simply have to know why it is tougher for me to do the identical factor on Saturday.”
Martin could have his future in his personal fingers within the ultimate spherical from November 15 to 17, which can be held in Barcelona on the Circuit de Catalunya-Barcelona after the Valencia Grand Prix was canceled as a result of catastrophic flooding within the area. final week.
Earlier on Sunday, the race was red-flagged after Purple Bull KTM’s Jack Miller fell in flip two of the opening laps and collided with Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo and teammate Brad Binder.
Australian Miller obtained medical consideration on the monitor and was acutely aware when taken to the medical middle for examination.
