Bagnaia triumphs in Malaysia MotoGP, narrows title gap with Martin

Francesco Bagnaia claimed a crucial victory in a thrilling Malaysia MotoGP on Sunday, edging out championship leader Jorge Martin to take their title fight to the season’s final weekend.

With Martin’s lead cut to 24 points, Bagnaia kept his title hopes alive in a dramatic race that saw wheel-to-wheel action before he pulled ahead, securing the win with a gap he held to the finish. Enea Bastianini finished third, well behind the leading duo.

“Honestly, Jorge was very aggressive,” Bagnaia said. “But our pace was too good, and like always in the race, on Sunday, I can attack.”

Pramac Ducati’s Martin, who had extended his lead to 29 points with a Saturday sprint win, acknowledged the difficulty of fending off the defending champion. “Thanks to Pecco, because he’s making this challenge more and more and more difficult,” Martin said. “We were making a good show for the first few laps. But it was impossible to fight at the end.”

With 37 points still available, Martin can clinch his first world title with a sprint win in the season’s final round. After the Valencia finale was canceled due to deadly floods, organizers aim to move the final race to Barcelona’s Circuit de Catalunya.

(Source: AFP)