#MalaysianGP – MOTOGP, SPRINT & RACE
MOTOGP – SPRINT: Alex Marquez victorious as Martin closes in on Bagnaia
he final chapter of the 2023 Championship story is underway and the momentum swung a little more in the direction of the purple corner in Saturday’s Tissot Sprint. With Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) taking a classy, dominant victory, it left Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) and Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) to battle it out as the former claimed P2, with polesitter Pecco having to settle for P3. Now, the gap ahead of Sunday’s race is just 11 points.
The battle commences…
It was a cracking start for the Ducati factory duo as Bagnaia led teammate Enea Bastianini into Turn 1, but Alex Marquez quickly joined the party into the first corner as he slotted himself into P3 to pick off Bastianini for P2 a few corners later. Martin had dropped down to 4th place on Lap 1 but pounced on Bastianini in the final sector. The Red Bull KTM Factory Racing duo of Brad Binder and Jack Miller took advantage as they quickly followed pursuit and demoted the Italian further.
Bagnaia held strong in the lead until the end of the second lap when a last-corner dive bomb from Alex Marquez saw the Spaniard briefly take the lead for half a corner. Having ran wide the #73 then fell into the clutches of Martin who was eager to latch onto his title rival Bagnaia. The pair swapped and changed positions over the next few corners until Marquez eventually made a move stick on his compatriot and set his sights on the race leader.
Marquez kept the pressure on as Bagnaia could feel the Gresini rider breathing down his neck with the chequered flag drawing closer and closer. Marquez made his move with four and a half laps remaining, which invited Martin to pounce on Pecco who had no answer for either of the Spaniards.
Marquez put the hammer down in the lead and began to stretch out the leading group. The Gresini rider was untouchable at the front as he went on to take victory by an impressive 1.589s.
Martin also had the bit between his teeth as he slowly pulled away from the factory Ducati behind him. The #89 finished 1.5s ahead of Bagnaia in 2nd place as the Champion sealed a damage limitation job in P3.
The return of the beast
Meanwhile, Bastianini had picked off the KTMs and made his way back onto the rear wheel of his teammate. With Bagnaia struggling for pace Bastianini played the team game behind the #1 and remained in his shadow until the chequered flag came out.
The Beast did come under pressure in the final moments as Binder had found some late Sprint pace to latch himself onto the back of the factory Ducati riders. Bastianini ran wide at the final corner which invited Binder through, however, the Italian got the cut-back and used the Ducati power to full advantage as he snatched 4th place back on the drag to the line. One second back from this battle was the other KTM Factory Racing rider of Miller. The Aussie kept himself within the mix for most of the Sprint to bring home a solid 6th-place finish. Another second back was Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) who fended off Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) to take 7th place. The Italian’s teammate Luca Marini took the final Sprint point in 9th ahead of Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) who rounded out the top 10.
TOP 10:
- Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™)
- Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) +1.589
- Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) +3.034
- Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) +3.242
- Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +3.310
- Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +4.318
- Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) +5.307
- Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) +5.501
- Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) +6.420
- Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) +7.241
PECCO vs MARTIN: Title fight heats up as Bastianini blasts back to glory
Pecco vs Martin: it’s official. The fight for the 2023 FIM MotoGP™ World Championship is now a duel, and it’s a duel split by just 14 points as we head into the final two race weekends. It was also an early race duel at Sepang as the two went toe-to-toe in the fight for the podium, with Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) defending with everything he had against now sole challenger, Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing). But that was the fight for third!
Up ahead, Enea Bastianini’s (Ducati Lenovo Team) fantastic return to form continued as the number 23 moved through to the lead, set some absolutely searing pace, and wasn’t to be seen again. Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) kept him honest enough, however, with the number 73 following up his Sprint win with another Grand Prix podium.
It was almost three abreast into Turn 1 once the lights went out, with the front row side-by-side. Bastianini played it safe, Bagnaia was on the outside, and it was Martin who let the brakes off – diving up the inside to very briefly take the holeshot. But he was deep and Bagnaia took the chance to try and cut back in, but the #1 wasn’t in the postcode of the apex either. He got back past Martin but Bastianini was already through, as was Alex Marquez. Pecco held on to third against Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) but Martin wasn’t so lucky, getting shuffled back behind the Italian and left with a little more work to do from fifth
And so Bastianini led Alex Marquez, with a small but increasing gap back to some stunning early race fireworks. Once Martin was able to get back past Bezzecchi, he was right on the tail of Bagnaia and the teams, factory and grandstands held their breath as the show began. The number 89 was all over the number 1 but he attacked and was denied, attacked and was denied as the two scythed round Sepang near side-by-side. It was stunning, and it could prove important in terms of more than just points. On Sundays when they’ve both seen the flag, the reigning Champion has only finished ahead of Martin once since the Red Bull Ring – on the day of Johann Zarco’s history-making win in Australia. Bagnaia hasn’t beaten Martin in a Sprint since Catalunya. But at Sepang, the reigning Champion also turned the tables in qualifying, nabbing pole from Martin and outqualifying the number 89 for the first time since Barcelona.
From that huge shot of adrenaline though, it became an ebb of tension as the laps ticked down. Bastianini led Alex Marquez, both in some clear air. Bagnaia was in a “safe” third, and Martin a safe fourth, as the battle behind was the next. By five laps to go, Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™) had arrived at Bezzecchi, and this time the Yamaha rider struck quickly, slicing through almost immediately. The he was left trying to hold off the mighty power of the Ducati out the final corner and down the main straight into Turn 1, but it was mission accomplished – Quartararo was up into the top five as Bezzecchi officially dropped out on title contention.
At the front, Bastianini pounded on. With just over a second in hand, sometimes up to 1.5, the Beast was keeping very calm as he carried on – and very, very fast. He crossed the line for his first win since Aragon last year with a second and a half in hand, becoming the seventh different winner this season. Alex Marquez returned to the Grand Prix podium in second, Bagnaia took that vital third, and Martin was forced to settle for fourth to end the PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia 14 points adrift. Still, there are 74 left in play.
Quartararo took fifth from Bezzecchi, with Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP™’s Franco Morbidelli putting on a charge into seventh, with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) P8. Fabio Di Giannantonio (Gresini Racing MotoGP™) was hot on the heels on the Australian, and they had Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) for company too as he completed the top ten. Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing), Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing), Marc Marquez (Repsol Honda Team), Augusto Fernandez (GASGAS Factory Racing Tech3) and his teammate Pol Espargaro completed the points – with one notable name missing out on some being Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) as he crashed out of the battle with Miller and Diggia, rider ok.
TOP 10:
- Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP™)
- Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) +1.589
- Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) +3.034
- Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) +3.242
- Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +3.310
- Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) +4.318
- Marco Bezzecchi (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) +5.307
- Johann Zarco (Prima Pramac Racing) +5.501
- Luca Marini (Mooney VR46 Racing Team) +6.420
- Maverick Viñales (Aprilia Racing) +7.241
“It’s fantastic and emotional to get back to winning after a difficult period. Today I didn’t want anything else, I just wanted to win, I didn’t care about the rest, and I knew I could do it. In the race I pushed from the start as in qualifying, maintaining the gap, but I was totally at the limit, and couldn’t give anything more but in the end, the victory came. I think that something exploded inside me this weekend and I went back to having fun. Certainly, one of the keys is that we modified the engine braking strategy, coming into line with what we saw from Thailand. What changed also was that I am not continually making mistakes when braking, which until recently happened every lap. I’ve always said that when you get back to having fun, you also go a lot faster.”
Enea Bastianini P1
“It was a hard one and I’m not too happy about the race but it was good to be back in the points at least. I feel like our potential was better than 14th. We had a good Quali but could not translate that to the race pace. We have improved the time attacks compared to the beginning of the year but I’ve been struggling a bit more with used tires, so let’s try to analyze and have both aspects working well for the final two races.”
Augusto Fernández P14
Click the button below to find out all the images of the #KytCrew during the weekend in Malaysia.