MotoGP: Enea Bastianini back on top in Malaysian GP

Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) qualified on pole position. Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Ducati) and Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) rounded out the front row, with Ducati locking out the front two rows. However, Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) came from fourth to first to win the Sprint, with an exciting Grand Prix in store.

The entire front row had a perfect start and charged towards the tight, twisty first corner. Martin braked the latest but ran himself and Bagnaia wide, allowing Bastianini to take the race lead. Jorge Martin dropped to fifth, with Francesco Bagnaia in third place.

The real gainer in the first lap was the Spirit winner, Alex Marquez, who jumped to second place. Bastianini and Marquez bridged a comfortable gap at the front from the Championship rivals.

Tyres where the talk before the race began with 46 degrees track temperature and double the distance. Despite this, the entire field picked the medium-medium tyre combination for the main race.

Joan Mir (Repsol Honda Team) was the first crasher of the race and was the team’s 50^th crash of the season. Miguel Oliveira (CryptoDATA RNF MotoGP Team) crashed one lap later on the entry to the back straight. Aleix Espargaro (Aprilia Racing) also suffered his fifth crash of the weekend at turn nine.

Francesco Bagnaia escaped the clutches of Martin by extending a gap of a second in third position.

The battle for sixth was fierce, with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) leading Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP), and Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing). Binder crashed out of the race two laps later, ending his race prematurely.

Alvaro Bautista (Aruba.it Racing) continued to struggle this weekend, riding in 17^th out of the 18^th runners. Bautista was behind Iker Lecuona (LCR Honda CASTROL), a replacement rider for Alex Rins this weekend.

As the race continued, Enea Bastianini continued to lead, extending his gap to almost two seconds. Alex Marquez was three-tenths slower a lap, with Bagnaia a further two seconds behind.

Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) was the last rider in the top 10, with decisions to be made about his future. Marini is rumoured to be in talks with Repsol Honda for a two-year deal beginning next season.

On the final lap, Enea Bastianini kept cool, calm, and collected and came across the line to become the seventh winner of the season. Alex Marquez claimed another podium in 2023, finishing in second. Francesco Bagnaia rounded off the podium and importantly, extended his Championship gap.

Jorge Martin looked disappointed with a fourth-place finish in front of Fabio Quartararo, who rounded out the top five. Marco Bezzecchi came home in sixth and as the first VR46 Ducati.

Franco Morbidelli (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP), was a further one second behind in seventh place. Jack Miller was behind in eighth and finished as the top RC16 after his teammate crashed out.

Fabio Di Giannantonio was ninth as he continues to battle for his future in the Grand Prix paddock. Fellow Ducati rider rounded out the top 10 after a tough race at Sepang with rumours surrounding the Italian’s future.

The Championship gap is now 14 points with two rounds remaining this year – the next in one week in Qatar.

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Image credit: Ducati Media