MOTOGP MALAYSIA SPRINT: MARTIN TAKES WIN AND MOVES CLOSER TO TITLE

Jorge Martin took a crucial step toward the championship by winning the sprint race in Sepang.

Martin capitalized fully on Francesco Bagnaia’s crash during the race, bringing him within reach of securing the championship on Sunday. After Bagnaia crashed his factory Ducati while chasing Martin on lap three, Martin’s lead extended from 17 points to 29 points. If Martin increases his lead over Bagnaia by another 9 points in tomorrow’s race, he will clinch the world title.

Starting from second, Martin had a strong launch, moving ahead of pole-sitter Bagnaia by the first corner. The two entered the turn side-by-side, but Martin’s inside line gave him a slight edge at the apex, allowing him to take the lead. This put Bagnaia under pressure, as he needed to overtake Martin to close the points gap. Although Bagnaia followed Martin closely up to turn 9 on lap three, he overextended in dirty air, causing him to lose the front end of his bike and crash.

Following the incident, Martin held his lead, though Marc Marquez and Enea Bastianini followed closely in the intense Malaysian heat.

“It was a tough race,” Martin said afterward. “I had to stay very precise and focused. It would have been so easy to make a mistake today.”

Marquez couldn’t quite catch Martin, while factory Ducati rider Bastianini kept close to Marquez but couldn’t find an opportunity to pass him, enabling Marquez to extend his points gap over fourth-place Bastianini to 13 points.

Around five seconds behind the leading trio, Gresini Ducati rider Alex Marquez took fourth, holding his position after passing Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli on lap two.

Morbidelli’s small error on lap two allowed Alex Marquez and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo to overtake, with Quartararo ultimately securing fifth place.

Morbidelli finished sixth in a race where minimal gaps and few overtakes marked the lower half of the top 10.

Just behind him, Brad Binder led the KTMs, finishing seventh. Factory KTM rider Jack Miller managed to keep Tech3 rookie Pedro Acosta behind, securing eighth place.

VR46 rider Marco Bezzecchi completed the top 10, ahead of Yamaha’s Alex Rins and Aprilia’s Aleix Espargaro. After Johann Zarco retired due to a technical issue, Luca Marini claimed 15th place for Honda.