Bagnaia wins Malaysian GP but Martin leads MotoGP standings

    Bagnaia crashed out in the Sprint but his victory on Sunday was his tenth this season.

    Published On Nov 04, 2024 10:47:00 AM

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    The penultimate race of the 2024 MotoGP season was a rollercoaster, with the championship at stake and a restart in the main race on Sunday due to a crash on the opening lap. Ultimately, Francesco Bagnaia (who crashed out in the Sprint) took the chequered flag ahead of championship leader Jorge Martin (who won the Sprint).

    1. Martin leads the standings by 24 points
    2. Marquez crashes out but rejoins to finish 12th
    3. Quartararo finishes sixth, highest for a Japanese bike this season

    MotoGP Malaysia: Opening lap incident

    The original start of the 2024 Malaysian GP was nulled because of a collision involving both KTM riders – Jack Miller and Brad Binder – and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo. All three riders were lucky enough to walk away without sustaining major injuries, but this incident resulted in the race being red-flagged and restarted.

    Bagnaia vs Martin

    Both the championship contenders fought tooth and nail for the lead in the challenging and sweltering-hot Malaysian GP. Ultimately, after about three laps of going back and forth, the championship leader, Martin, backed off and played it safe to finish second. Bagnaia kept running an almost unmatched pace at the front and ultimately took the chequered flag in first place, taking home his tenth victory this season. This also means that the title fight will roll on to the final round.

    The only other rider on the grid who was able to match the Ducati GP24s of Bagnaia was, as usual, eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez. He was running in third place, just behind Martin, when he tucked the front and crashed. Rejoining as soon as he could, he could only manage to finish P12. This handed the final podium spot to Ducati’s Enea Bastianini, but Marquez did just enough to pass him for third place in the overall standings.

    Top six finish for Yamaha

    Quartararo followed up his fifth-place Sprint result with a sixth-place finish in the main race. This was despite suffering minor injuries in the opening lap incident with the two KTMs. In what was another positive step for Yamaha, Alex Rins finished eighth, two places behind his French teammate. 

    2024 MotoGP standings

    Martin is still in control of the championship, with a comfortable 24-point lead over Bagnaia. Despite his crash and owing to his 12th-place finish, Marquez is third in the standings, ahead of Bagnaia’s teammate Bastianini. The final round of the 2024 MotoGP season will likely be held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on November 15-17, following the cancellation of the Valencia round.

    2024 Malaysian GP results

    2024 Malaysian MotoGP results
    PositionRiderTeam
    1Francesco BagnaiaDucati
    2Jorge MartinPramac Ducati
    3Enea BastianiniDucati
    4Alex MarquezGresini Ducati
    5Pedro AcostaGASGAS Tech3
    6Fabio QuartararoYamaha
    7Maverick VinalesAprilia
    8Alex RinsYamaha
    9Marco BezzecchiVR46 Ducati
    10Augusto FernandezGASGAS Tech3
    11Johann ZarcoLCR Honda
    12Marc MarquezGresini Ducati
    13Aleix EspargaroAprilia
    14Franco MorbidelliPramac Ducati
    15Luca MariniRepsol Honda
    16Raul FernandezTrackhouse Aprilia
    17Andrea IannoneVR46 Ducati
    18Lorenzo SavadoriTrackhouse Aprilia
    NCJack MillerKTM
    NCBrad BinderKTM
    NCTakaaki NakagamiLCR Honda
    NCJoan MirRepsol Honda

    Ducati Bikes

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