RACE REPORT | MotoGP Malaysia 2024

Bagnaia's victory narrows the championship gap to 24 points, with leader Martin finishing close behind in second, guaranteeing the title fight will continue to the final round.

In Saturday's sprint race, Jorge Martin of Pramac Racing secured a victory, extending his lead in the MotoGP championship to 29 points over Ducati's Francesco Bagnaia who did not finis the short race. Marc Marquez of Gresini Racing finished second, with Enea Bastianini, also from Ducati, completing the podium.

Sunday's main race, however, told an entirely different story.

When the race began, Bagnaia surged forward, claiming the lead by Turn 1 and pushing Martin back to second. The action quickly took a dramatic turn as a crash at Turn 2 involving multiple riders brought out a red flag.

After the restart, Bagnaia again shot into the lead with Martin in close pursuit, while Marc Marquez moved aggressively into the top three. Martin made his first attempt to overtake on the opening lap, but Bagnaia swiftly responded, igniting the title battle.

The two front-runners exchanged positions and pushed each other to the limit, captivating the Malaysian crowd. Bagnaia set a blistering pace by Lap 5, building a gap as incidents took out other key riders. With Morbidelli crashing at Turn 9 and Marquez slipping from third at Turn 15, Bastianini moved up to third, solidifying his standing in the championship.

Martin stayed relentless, edging closer to Bagnaia, but a mistake at Turn 9 caused him to fall back. Bagnaia held his lead strong, ultimately crossing the line with a 3.141-second advantage, keeping the title battle alive. Martin secured second place, extending his championship advantage, while Bastianini rounded out the podium in third.

Further back, Alex Marquez took fourth, fending off Acosta, and Quartararo impressively finished sixth after a determined recovery. Bezzecchi, Fernandez, and others completed the top 10, with Marquez making a comeback to finish 12th and claim valuable points.

Race results