Bagnaia wins MotoGP thriller in Malaysia to keep title race alive / Photo: Lillian SUWANRUMPHA - AFP
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Bagnaia wins MotoGP thriller in Malaysia to keep title race alive
Francesco Bagnaia won a thrilling Malaysia MotoGP on Sunday after a ding-dong battle with championship leader Jorge Martin to take the pair's title battle to the final weekend of the season.
Spaniard Martin's lead was cut to 24 points after he finished second behind the Italian defending champion Bagnaia in a race that had to be restarted, with a maximum of 37 points remaining to be won in the final round in a fortnight's time.
Enea Bastianini was a distant third to complete the podium behind the dominant front two, who battled wheel-to-wheel for the first four laps before Bagnaia was able to open a gap which he held till the chequered flag.
"Honestly, Jorge was very aggressive," said Ducati rider Bagnaia after the lead was exchanged on multiple occasions in the opening skirmishes.
"But our pace was too good, and like always in the race, on Sunday, I can attack."
Pramac Ducati's Martin had extended his championship lead from 17 to 29 points after he won Saturday's sprint and Bagnaia crashed his Ducati.
Bagnaia admitted his sprint race form had not been good enough this year after taking his 10th grand prix win of 2024.
"We just need to understand why on Saturday I'm struggling more to do the same," said the 2022 and 2023 world champion.
"But it's the 10th victory of the season. We are doing an incredible job."
Martin is chasing his first world title and victory in the final sprint will be enough to secure him the crown.
"Thanks to Pecco (Bagnaia), because he's making this challenge more and more and more difficult," said Martin.
"You know, I wanted to win. I wanted to be in the lead. But, for sure, Pecco had another strategy. Completely understood his strategy. He was quite aggressive.
"I was also, and we were making a good show for the first few laps. But it was impossible to fight at the end. So we go to the final race."
The season finale had been due to take place in Valencia but was cancelled on Friday after deadly flooding in that part of Spain.
- 'It is still possible' -
Organisers were rushing to find a new venue, with Barcelona's Circuit de Catalunya emerging on Sunday as the preferred replacement by teams and officials.
"Mathematically it is still possible but it is quite difficult," said Bagnaia, who won the MotoGP main race in Barcelona in May from Martin, but crashed out in the sprint.
"In Barcelona, anything can happen. Like I crashed in the sprint race when I was leading there, trying to avoid any mistakes and I still crashed.
"So, it will be tricky, the conditions will be more tough because it might be cold."
A minute's silence was held in Sepang before Saturday's sprint to remember the more than 200 dead from the floods in Spain.
"I think it's nice to make the final race at home, a lot of people will support us," said Martin.
"Today is not a good day still for the Spanish after all that had happened, so this podium is for them.
"I will try to win the championship, not for me but those people, for my team and for the people around me. They really deserve it."
The race was red-flagged on the opening lap because of a horror crash involving Jack Miller, Brad Binder and Fabio Quartararo.
All three riders miraculously escaped any serious injury and the race restarted from the same grid positions, but reduced by one lap to 19 laps.
M.Sullivanv--NG
