Bagnaia leads Friday practice in Malaysia, Martin crashes out in title showdown

Francesco Bagnaia topped Friday practice at the Malaysian MotoGP, outpacing title rival Jorge Martin, who suffered a late-session crash. Bagnaia, defending his championship crown, trailed Martin by 17 points entering this penultimate race weekend, with just the Valencia finale remaining.

Bagnaia set the fastest lap in both practice sessions at Sepang, clocking an impressive 1min 57.679sec. Martin, racing for Pramac Ducati, trailed by just 0.050 seconds before skidding off his bike with three minutes remaining. Fortunately, the Spaniard was uninjured.

Martin has a mathematical chance to clinch his first world title this weekend, with a sprint race on Saturday and the main event on Sunday. However, Bagnaia’s strong showing highlighted the intensity of their title battle. Bagnaia’s Ducati teammate, Enea Bastianini, finished third, while Aprilia’s Maverick Vinales and Gresini’s Alex Marquez completed the top five.

Six-time world champion Marc Marquez ranked 10th, while Andrea Iannone, returning from a four-year doping suspension, placed 21st for the VR46 team.

Bagnaia’s recent victory in Thailand kept his title hopes alive, narrowing Martin’s lead. With potential flooding concerns in Valencia, Bagnaia and Martin have joined others in calling for the season finale to be rescheduled.

(Source: AFP)