MotoGP News: Martins wins, Bagnaia chokes in Malaysia Sprint
Jorge Martin has won a crucial Tissot Sprint victory at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia – securing the maximum 12 points available.
The #89 won by 0.913s over Marc Marquez (year old Ducati), who made a strong start from P5 – maintaining his gap to the Championship leader in the closing stages.
Enea Bastianini (Factory Ducati, being replaced by Marquez in 2025) took third in what was a crucial day for the Championship after Francesco Bagnaia (Factory Ducati team) crashed out on Lap 3.
Bagnaia was able to shadow Martin until Turn 9 of the third lap, but then he asked too much of his Ducati in the dirty air and lost the front end.
The Italian’s mistake allowed Martin to increase his lead to 29 points – setting up for match point on Sunday. Martin has a chance to wrap up the MotoGP world championship in the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday after winning the sprint race at Sepang.
Alex Marquez brought his Gresini Ducati machine home fourth after overtaking Pramac’s Franco Morbidelli on the second lap and holding his position from there.
Fabio Quartararo rounded out the top-5
2024 Malaysian MotoGP, Sepang – Sprint Race Results
| Pos | No. | Rider | Nat | Team | Behind | Gap |
| 1 | 89 | Jorge Martin | SPA | Pramac Ducati (GP24) | +0.000s | 0.000s |
| 2 | 93 | Marc Marquez | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP23) | +0.913s | 0.913 |
| 3 | 23 | Enea Bastianini | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP24) | +2.010s | 1.097 |
| 4 | 73 | Alex Marquez | SPA | Gresini Ducati (GP23) | +6.575s | 4.565 |
| 5 | 20 | Fabio Quartararo | FRA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +7.917s | 1.342 |
| 6 | 21 | Franco Morbidelli | ITA | Pramac Ducati (GP24) | +8.957s | 1.040 |
| 7 | 33 | Brad Binder | RSA | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +11.015s | 2.058 |
| 8 | 43 | Jack Miller | AUS | Red Bull KTM (RC16) | +11.834s | 0.819 |
| 9 | 31 | Pedro Acosta | SPA | Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16)* | +12.091s | 0.257 |
| 10 | 72 | Marco Bezzecchi | ITA | VR46 Ducati (GP23) | +12.840s | 0.749 |
| 11 | 42 | Alex Rins | SPA | Monster Yamaha (YZR-M1) | +14.901s | 2.061 |
| 12 | 41 | Aleix Espargaro | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24) | +15.224s | 0.323 |
| 13 | 37 | Augusto Fernandez | SPA | Red Bull GASGAS Tech3 (RC16) | +17.115s | 1.891 |
| 14 | 12 | Maverick Viñales | SPA | Aprilia Racing (RS-GP24) | +18.603s | 1.488 |
| 15 | 10 | Luca Marini | ITA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +19.090s | 0.487 |
| 16 | 36 | Joan Mir | SPA | Repsol Honda (RC213V) | +20.204s | 1.114 |
| 17 | 30 | Takaaki Nakagami | JPN | LCR Honda (RC213V) | +21.711s | 1.507 |
| 18 | 25 | Raul Fernandez | SPA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP24) | +23.814s | 2.103 |
| 19 | 29 | Andrea Iannone | ITA | VR46 Ducati (GP23) | +25.898s | 2.084 |
| 20 | 32 | Lorenzo Savadori | ITA | Trackhouse Aprilia (RS-GP24) | +29.778s | 3.880 |
| 5 | Johann Zarco | FRA | LCR Honda (RC213V) | DNF | ||
| 1 | Francesco Bagnaia | ITA | Ducati Lenovo (GP24) | DNF |
* Rookie