MotoGP, Malaysia LIVE Race: The title will be decided in Barcelona!!! Bagnaia wins ahead of Martin and Bastianini, Quartararo 6th!

Pecco Bagnaia has not yet lost everything, but it is true that, mathematically, it is now difficult for him to win the MotoGP world championship. The current title holder has let slip very precious points for the general classification which now places him 29 behind his biggest rival, Jorge Martin, who came first in the Sprint on Saturday, while he fell to the ground. This Malaysian Grand Prix therefore represents both for the Italian his last shot and a last hurrah, before the curtain falls on this thrilling season. Before launching into the fray, here is the starting grid presented …

Francis Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) has qualified on pole for the fifth time since the start of the year with Assen, San Marino, Emilia Romagna and Thailand, setting a new lap record in Sepang. This is his second consecutive pole at Sepang and his 23rd in total in MotoGP, all with Ducati, thus increasing his lead as a driver Ducati with the most poles in the category ahead Casey Stoner (21). He fell to the Sprint and saw his deficit in the lead go to 29 point. One George Martin wins the Grand Prix, bagnaia must come home second to keep his title hopes alive. If bagnaia wins the GP, he will be the first driver to win 10 victories (or more) in a single MotoGP season since Marc Marquez in 2019 (12). Only Marquez (13 – 2014, 12 – 2019), Valentino Rossi (11 – 2002, 2005) and Casey Stoner (10 – 2007, 2011) have won 10 or more Grand Prix races in a single MotoGP season. If he finishes on the podium on Sunday, it will be his 50th podium in MotoGP.

George Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) qualified second, making it the 13th time this year he has qualified in the top three and the third in his three visits to Sepang in MotoGP. He won the Sprint to increase its lead in the championship to 29 point, giving himself a match point on Sunday. If he wins the GP, bagnaia must take second place if the title fight is to continue until the final round. On Sunday, Martin will try to win his ninth victory in MotoGP overall, and his fourth of the season.

A victory of Ducati would be their 16th consecutive victory, a new personal record. Ducati would be the first manufacturer to win 16 consecutive races in the premier class since Honda won 22, from Malaysia in 1997 to Assen in 1998. This would be their 18th victory in 2024, setting a new record for most wins in a single season by a single manufacturer.

Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) qualified third for his first top-three finish in qualifying since also qualifying third in Qatar last year. He finished fourth in the Sprint, but he will now aim to add to his collection of podiums in the premier class (two with Honda and three with Ducati) or take his first MotoGP victory.

Franco Morbidelli (Prima Pramac Racing) qualified fourth, his second best qualifying result of the season after qualifying second in San Marino. He finished sixth in the sprint and will be aiming for his first GP podium since finishing P3 at Jerez in 2021, having come close earlier in Indonesia and securing a sprint podium at the San Marino GP.

Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) qualified fifth and finished second in the Sprint. He will try to win for the fourth time this year with Aragon, San Marino and Australia. If he finishes on the podium on Sunday, it will be his 150th podium in GPHe is third in the championship, 13 points ahead bastianini in the fight for third place.

This is the third Ducati 1-2-3-4-5-6 in qualifying in the MotoGP era with Malaysia and Qatar last year

Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) qualified sixth, the first time he has missed the top three in MotoGP qualifying at Sepang. He finished third in the Sprint (his sixth consecutive podium in Sprint) and he will now aim to win his eighth victory in MotoGP overall and his third of the season. A podium on Sunday would be his 50th GP podium.

Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) qualified seventh for his second best qualifying so far this year after Portugal and Austria where he qualified fifth. He finished P8 in the Sprint and will now aim to secure a podium finish for the first time since P3 in Spain last year, or take his best result of the season if he beats P5s scored in Portugal and Thailand.

The pilots KTM et Aprilia will aim to give their constructor(s) their first win at Sepang. So far, their best results here are P8 and P7 respectively.

fabio quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) qualified eighth, matching his second-best result of the season so far with France. He finished P5 in the Sprint, his best result and that of Yamaha in Sprint so far this year, equalling Jerez. If they can beat their P7 finish at the Portuguese, San Marino, Emilia Romagna and Indonesian GPs, it would also be their best GP result.

alex rins (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Team) qualified ninth, equalling his second-best qualifying result so far this season with Australia, after Catalunya where he qualified eighth. His best finish across the line this season so far is a P9 at Aragon.

Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) qualified 10th, marking the 10th time this year he has missed the top nine in qualifying. He finished P7 in the Sprint and will aim to finish on the podium for the second time since the start of the year with Qatar (P2), or to win for the first time since Austria in 2021.

Johann zarco (Castrol Honda LCR) qualified 11th for his third best qualifying result of the year after Indonesia, where he was seventh, and Aragon, where he was 10th. He did not finish the Sprint due to a technical issue, and will now aim to score his best GP result with Honda if he beats the P8 he scored in Thailand last time out.

Andrea Iannone (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) qualified 17th, which is also where he qualified here in 2019, the last time he raced here. Compared to 2019, he was 2,022 seconds quicker in Q2 while the pole position time was 1,966 seconds quicker. If he scores, it would be his first points in the MotoGP class at Sepang, his best result here so far being 17th in 2017.

What will this Malaysian Grand Prix have in store for us? Before we know, here is the table that summarizes the facts known so far.

MotoGP™ Malaysia, Sepang	2023	2024
FP1	1'59.513 Jorge Martin (See here)	1'58.795 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Practice	1'57.823 Alex Marquez (See here)	1'57.679 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
FP2	1'58.960 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	1'58.658 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Q1	1'57.823 Fabio Di Giannantonio (See here)	1'57.635 Johann Zarco (See here)
Q2	1'57.491 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)	1'56.337 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)
Sprint	Alex Marquez, Martin, Bagnaia (See here)	Martin, Marc Marquez, Bastianini (See here)
Warm Up	1'59.218 Fabio Quartararo (See here)	(See here)
Course	Bastianini, A. Marquez, Bagnaia (See here)	Bagnaia, Martin, Bastianini
All time lap record	1'57.491 Francesco Bagnaia 2023 (See here)	1'56.337 Francesco Bagnaia (See here)

Before getting into the heart of the matter, here are the warm-up times:

Marc Marquez was the fastest in the session. The rider gave great indications yesterday and showed his speed, if there were still doubts, but this morning he clearly demonstrated that he must be taken very seriously in Sepang.

We are in turmoil this morning as everything is being put in place in Sepang to make this race day a success..no doubt we are going to vibrate as the tension is at its peak…! Who will win today??

Pecco is playing big today!!!

And what about Martin...With a 29-point lead in the championship, the lead is there...but the championship is not over yet...

More than 40° in the air….and 60° on the track!! Physical condition will be a major issue in this duel at the top!

20 laps will have to be completed in the furnace! Cool down at all costs…

Warm-up lap!

At the last moment, Bagnaia chose the soft tire at the front... a daring bet...! the majority of the drivers including Martin having opted for the medium

Here we go and it's Bagnaia who comes out in front ahead of Martin: big fall at the back...including Quartararo, Binder and Miller who is still on the ground...

Red flag!

Back to the box… the race will start again for 19 laps

Miller is still on the ground...on the runway, he is conscious.

Miller was taken to hospital by vehicle.

The pit lane reopens at 15:20 p.m.…the drivers will have 6 minutes to exit the pits and position themselves on the starting grid.

Zarco will start from the pitlane, he didn't get out on time...well finally, Zarco will start live...

Binder returns to the pits, technical problem on his 2nd machine…he will start from the pits

No serious injury for Miller we learn...he will not go to the clinic. We have him on camera...he is standing!!!

warm up lap

It's off and Bagnaia comes out on top ahead of Martin and MMarquez. Morbidelli and Bastianini complete the top 5

Martin sticks into the Ducati rider's saddle

Here we go, it's heating up!! Martin takes the lead!! but Bagnaia responds...and no, Martin takes back the lead!

And it continues… Bagania takes back control!!

Behind, Martin MMarquez, Morbidelli, Bastianini, AMarquez, Quartararo, Acosta, Rins and Vinales complete the top10

What a rag-picker battle!!! Huge!!

Bagnaia returns after having passed himself off….olalala….

Aggression at its peak!!!

Binder gives up

Bagania starts to feel comfortable in 1st position…he has a lead of 0.674s over Martin. The gap increases to 0.800s…the choice of tires can make the difference at the end of the race…soft tire for Bagnaia and medium for Martin…to be continued..

Fall of Mir

Martin must have been informed on his dashboard by his team that he should not catch fire.

Morbidelli's fall

Fall of MMarquez

With 12 laps to go, Bagnaia has a lead of 1.257s...over Martin. Bastianini, AMarquez, Acosta, Quartararo, Vinales, Rins, Zarco and Bezzecchi bring up the rear of the top10

Great race by Quartararo..

A great battle between Zarco and Bezzecchi, Zarco 9th but the Italian driver doesn't give up...

In front of Bagnaia assures!!

Bezzecchi passes the Cannes player, AFernnadez takes advantage and also passes him…he is now 11th

There are 6 laps remaining and in front Bagnaia manages his lead, the gap is stable on Martin (2.045s). Bastainini, AMarquez, Acosta, Quartararo, Vinales, Rins, Bezzecchi and AFernandez complete the march of the top10

The gap between Bagnaia and Martin is decreasing…1.499s separate the 2 drivers

Nakagami Falls

Maximum tension for Martin's brother...a Martin who misses but catches up...

3 more rounds!!!

Message from the PRAMAC team….to Martin “FOCUS”

Victory for Bagnaia ahead of Martin and Bastianini

MotoGP, Malaysia Race: Ranking

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Classification credit: MotoGP.com