World Championship leader Jorge Martin won the MotoGP sprint race as part of the Malaysian Grand Prix. His rival and Ducati brand colleague Francesco Bagnaia slipped in a left-hand bend on the third lap in Sepang and was eliminated.
The Italian had to watch in the pit lane as Martin confidently clinched his seventh win of the season over the shortened distance and earned twelve points in the title fight. He can be crowned world champion on Sunday.
Martin extends his lead
Martin extended his lead in the World Championship standings over Bagnaia to 29 points. If the 26-year-old from Madrid wins the main race and the Italian does not come second, the title race will be decided before the final World Cup weekend in two weeks.
Second on Saturday was the Spaniard Marc Marquez and third was the Italian Enea Bastianini, all on Ducati. The best KTM rider was the South African Brad Binder in seventh place, immediately ahead of the Australian Jack Miller and the Spaniard Pedro Acosta.
Malaysian Grand Prix
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