This Sprint race in Malaysia had a completely unexpected outcome when two-time world champion Pecco Bagnaia crashed and could well have said goodbye to the title and handed it to Jorge Martín, who won and took a giant step towards his title!
Everything was in place for the start of the Sprint, with the riders receiving white signals beforehand informing them that they could change bikes – if they so wished – given the light rain that fell on the circuit.
Pecco Bagnaia took pole position, with Jorge Martín and Álex Márquez on the front row, in the best position to attack the 10 laps of the race.
Martín got off to a strong start and took the lead straight away, with Bagnaia in second and Marc Márquez already in third, ahead of Enea Bastianini and Á. Márquez.
🚦 #THEREMATCH IS ON🚦
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 2, 2024
Side-by-side, the title contenders dive into T1! Martin leads!!! 🚀#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/UA89gEi40j
The first lap was intense but there were no major changes of position for the riders at the front, and the top three were already starting to emerge, with Bestia 1s ahead.
Fabio Quartararo was sixth, Brad Binder seventh, Jack Miller eighth and Franco Morbidelli and Pedro Acosta rounded out the top ten respectively.
With two laps to go Martín had a three-tenths lead over Bagnaia, but the worst was yet to come for the two-time defending champion: at turn nine Bagnaia crashed and was out of the race! The Italian had led every session and this time he crashed. Could this have been the crash that “ended” Bagnaia’s title chances? More drama than this was impossible!
THAT COULD BE IT! 🚨
— MotoGP™🏁 (@MotoGP) November 2, 2024
THAT COULD BE THE MOMENT WHERE @PECCOBAGNAIA LOSES THE 2024 #MotoGP WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP! 💥#MalaysianGP 🇲🇾 pic.twitter.com/LC8AmtSm2t
Martín now had “only” to control the position and reach the end of the race, a golden and unique opportunity for the Spaniard to take a giant step towards the title.
Marc Márquez was now second and Enea Bastianini third.
The race reached the halfway point and Martín had a 0.870s advantage over Márquez, Bastianini was third, Á. Márquez fourth and Quartararo fifth.
The Sprint continued at a good pace and without major changes, and Bagnaia could only “pray” for a miracle.
Johann Zarco was also out of the race, three laps from the end, with his Honda smoking.
Martín confirmed shortly after the victory, with Márquez in second and Bastianini finishing on the podium.
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