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Francesco Bagnaia recovers from Sprint crash to claim Malaysia Grand Prix victory and take title race to final day
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Published 03/11/2024 at 07:15 GMT
Defending champion Francesco Bagnaia earned his 10th Grand Prix victory of the season with an excellent performance that will take the title fight down to the wire. The Italian recovered from a nightmare Sprint where he crashed out and seemingly put the title in Jorge Martin's hands. With this victory, Bagnaia takes the title race down to the season finale to set up a dramatic showdown.
‘We’ve been waiting for this!’ – Race for title intensifies as Martin and Bagnaia trade places
Video credit: TNT Sports
Defending champion Francesco Bagnaia earned his 10th Grand Prix victory of the season with an excellent performance that will take the title fight down to the wire.
The championship leader Jorge Martin settled for second place after opting out of the early battle with Bagnaia, settling for the 24-point lead going into the finale.
Marc Marquez was running smoothly in third until he crashed out and finished in 12th place, gifting the final podium slot to Enea Bastianini.
Bagnaia and Martin engaged in a fierce battle in the opening act around Sepang, trading positions each corner until Bagnaia prevailed.
The championship will now be decided in the season finale, most likely to be held in Barcelona after tragic flooding in Valencia forced a change in venue.
Polesitter Bagnaia got off to a great first start, forcing Martin to run wide as chaos unfolded behind that caused an early red flag to the race.
Brad Binder, Fabio Quartararo, and Jack Miller were caught in a three-bike pile-up heading into a busy Turn 2 that mandated a full restart.
Within 20 minutes the riders were back on track and Bagnaia perfected his start on the second go, instantly pulling ahead of Martin on the starting straight.
He didn't keep the lead for long, though, as Martin immediately got to work and attempted a bold move around the inside of Bagnaia on the opening lap.
A small wobble from the Prima Pramac rider forced him to abandon the move, but he came right back to snatch the lead from Bagnaia after lunging around the inside of the final corner.
Martin briefly led the pack before the two-time world champion cut across him at Turn 1 on Lap 2, putting everything on the line as the title fight comes to blows.
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‘We’ve been waiting for this!’ – Race for title intensifies as Martin and Bagnaia trade places
Video credit: TNT Sports
The two championship rivals traded positions across the third lap, almost colliding as they went side by side into the starting straight.
Martin led the pack around Sepang again before losing the position to Bagnaia around Turn 1 of Lap 4 in a risky move from the eager Italian.
From there, Bagnaia led the Malaysian Grand Prix smoothly as Martin opted out of the fight in order to save his overheating tyres in the blistering heat.
He attempted to close the gap in the final five laps after using the middle section of the race to recover, but Martin almost crashed at Turn 9 so he relinquished the fight.
Marquez was present throughout the early stages of the battle, lingering closely behind the championship rivals waiting for a mistake to capitalise on.
It was all going well for Marquez in third place until he crashed at Turn 15 on Lap 7, gifting his position to his closest rival Bastianini.
Marquez managed to recover to 12th place, retaining his P3 in the Riders' Standings ahead of the final showdown in Barcelona.
After Marquez's crash, Bagnaia picked up the pace and cruised to a redemptive victory around Sepang as Martin settled for second place.
Only 24 points separate the Bagnaia and Martin as they prepare for the season finale in Barcelona, expected to be a fierce showdown which could either crown a two-time world champion or celebrate a maiden championship.
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‘Fierce, hard-fought win’ at Malaysia GP helps Bagnaia keep title dreams alive
Video credit: TNT Sports
RIDER OF THE DAY: FRANCESCO BAGNAIA
One rider turned a sour weekend into a redemptive one, and that was Bagnaia.
He was able to come back to Sepang as a new man on Sunday and forget the unfortunate sprint crash that many said could cost him the championship.
Starting from pole, Bagnaia endured a ferocious battle with Martin for the lead and came out on top after an excellent defensive display and bold moves.
He got his elbows out immediately, challenging Martin off the line for the lead, and continued throughout the opening stages of the race.
His risky overtakes and aggressive defence proved to be perfect for the race, paired with the Ducati's amazing pace that allowed Bagnaia to pull two seconds ahead.
Bagnaia's victory keeps his title fight alive, giving him weeks to prepare for a final showdown in Barcelona that could add to his tally of 10 victories this season.
WHERE THE RACE WAS WON AND LOST
1/20 BAGNAIA LEADS AS FIRST-LAP CHAOS UNFOLDS - Francesco Bagnaia leads Martin around the track but a red flag is called before the opening lap ends. Three riders went down in the pile-up, including Brad Binder, Fabio Quartararo, and Jack Miller.
1/20 RED FLAG - The race will be restarted after a first-lap crash left three riders out of the race.
1/19 BAGNAIA LEADS OFF THE LINE - Bagnaia gets off to an amazing start, pulling ahead of Jorge Martin on the starting straight as he leads the pack into the first corner.
3/19 RIVALS GO BLOW FOR BLOW - The two championship rivals have put everything on the line here in Malaysia. Going side by side into the third lap, almost colliding on the first straight, they trade positions every corner.
6/19 BAGNAIA LEADS AS MARTIN RESTS - Bagnaia leads the pack heading into Lap 4 after a risky move saw him squeeze down the inside of Turn 1 while Jorge Martin creeps behind.
9/19 MARQUEZ DOWN AS BAGNAIA LEADS - Bagnaia leads the Malaysian Grand Prix after a scrappy opening act saw the two rivals trade positions each lap. Marc Marquez crashes out of third place at Turn 15 on Lap 7 after taking the corner too aggressively in the hunt for Martin.
16/19 BAGNAIA CLOSE TO THE WIN - Bagnaia boasts a 2.2 second gap to Jorge Martin as they lead the riders around Sepang. Martin is starting to cut the gap down to Bagnaia, taking a tenth out of the Italian in each corner.
19/19 PECCO PREVAILS - Defending champion Bagnaia earns his tenth Grand Prix victory of the season with an excellent performance that will take the title fight down to the wire.
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