Francesco Bagnaia claimed victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix, defending against Jorge Martin’s early attacks to secure the win. Bagnaia converted his pole position into an early lead at Turn 1, setting up a thrilling contest with Martin, who finished second.

This result slightly reduces Bagnaia’s deficit in the title race and sets the stage for an exciting season finale in Barcelona, where he will fight for his third consecutive championship.

The race required two starts after a first-lap incident triggered a red flag. Bagnaia had just taken the lead from Martin when chaos unfolded behind them. The collision involved three riders: Brad Binder, Jack Miller, and Fabio Quartararo. The crash left Miller lying on the track, receiving medical treatment, but fortunately, he later walked away from the medical center without serious injuries. Binder, despite wanting to continue, had to retire due to shoulder pain from the collision.

Despite appearing to have a leg injury, Quartararo was able to race after the restart. The shortened 19-lap race began with a thrilling sequence where Martin relentlessly attacked Bagnaia for the first four laps, resulting in one of the season’s longest duels. However, a minor error from Martin at the end of lap four allowed Bagnaia to extend his lead and set the fastest lap.

Bagnaia maintained control from that point, finishing over three seconds ahead. Martin’s gamble on a medium front tire did not significantly impact the outcome. Enea Bastianini completed the podium in third after being promoted when Marc Marquez and Franco Morbidelli both crashed on lap seven.

Alex Marquez held onto fourth place and briefly came under pressure from Pedro Acosta, who had fought his way up from 13th on the grid. However, Acosta’s bike lost momentum in the final laps, allowing Marquez to secure fourth.

Quartararo finished in sixth, followed by Maverick Vinales and Alex Rins in seventh and eighth, respectively. Marco Bezzecchi won the battle for ninth, edging out Augusto Fernandez by a tenth of a second.

Johann Zarco was the fastest Honda rider in 11th, while Marc Marquez recovered from his earlier fall to finish 12th, ahead of Aleix Espargaro. Morbidelli managed to recover to 14th, collecting two championship points, while Luca Marini rounded out the top 15.

2024 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix