Bagnaia wins in Malaysia to take title race to final day
Defending champion Francesco Bagnaia kept alive his hopes of retaining his title by winning the Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of rival Jorge Martin.
Bagnaia, a two-time title winner, finished three seconds in front of the Spaniard to win his 10th GP of the season.
The Italian’s victory means the championship will be decided by the final race of the season, with Martin holding a 24-point advantage.
“Jorge was very aggressive, he knew he needed to leave me behind but our pace was too good,” said Bagnaia.
“Like always in the race on Sunday I can attack and be more aggressive.”
Martin, 26, could have sealed his first championship had he finished nine points ahead of Bagnaia, and he traded the lead with the Italian several times over the early laps before placing second.
“We were making a good show for the first few laps but as soon as he overtook me it was impossible to fight,” said Martin.
“At the end I tried again to put on some pressure but I almost crashed, so I think getting eight points from this is unbelievable.”
An early crash on turn two saw the race red flagged after a coming together between Brad Binder, Jack Miller and Fabio Quartararo.
Miller received trackside medical assistance but suffered no serious injury, while Binder was unable to restart the race.
Six-time champion Marc Marquez was set for a podium finish in third before crashing out, gifting his spot to Enea Bastianini and finishing 12th.
The final race was due to be held in Valencia on 15 November but has been cancelled because of flooding in the area.
A request has been made for the final race to be scheduled in Barcelona.
“We think that Barcelona is the best possible place given the proximity to Valencia, given that a lot of people were already travelling through to get to the finale,” said Dorna Sports’ chief sporting officer Carlos Ezpeleta.
Overall standings
1. Jorge Martin (Spa/Pramac Racing) 485 points
2. Francesco Bagnaia (Ita/Ducati) 461
3. Marc Marquez (Spa/Gresini Racing) 369
4. Enea Bastianini (Ita/Ducati) 368
5. Pedro Acosta (Spa/Red Bull) 209
