Alex Marquez celebrates Saturday’s MotoGP world championship title runner-up achievement perfectly by winning the 2025 Malaysian Grand Prix at Sepang.
The Gresini Ducati rider passed Sprint winner Francesco Bagnaia on lap 2 and was never headed.
A fading Bagnaia later lost second to Pedro Acosta, who brilliantly defied KTM’s recent tyre woes, before the factory Ducati star suddenly sat up and began cruising with just 3 laps to go.
Whether it was related to his rear tyre (possibly a puncture) or a mechanical issue, Bagnaia’s exit handed the final podium place to Honda’s Joan Mir, his second of the season.
Despite the double 20-lap distance and hotter temperatures, most riders gambled on sticking with the soft rear tyre from the Sprint, rather than moving to the medium.
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Michelin warned pre-race that the soft could go the distance, but only with significant management of the rubber consumption.
The medium front was a more attractive option, chosen by nine riders, most notably Bagnaia, although the rest of the frontrunners kept the soft.
Bagnaia again took the holeshot from pole but after losing the lead to Marquez, he soon had his hands full holding off Acosta.
The factory Ducati star weathered the early storm, stabilising Marquez’s advantage at 0.8s. But the expected advantage from the medium front never materialised.
A charging Mir muscled past Aldeguer early on and later became embroiled in a big fight with Fabio Quartararo over fourth, which the Honda rider claimed at the halfway stage.
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Marquez and team-mate Fermin Aldeguer were racing in a special livery to celebrate sealing title runner-up and rookie of the year, respectively, in the Sprint.
However, Aldeguer, who lost third in the Sprint due to a tyre pressure penalty, crashed from seventh in the grand prix. Miguel Oliveira, Raul Fernandez and Pol Espargaro were also caught out.
Marco Bezzecchi could only manage eleventh for Aprilia, meaning he only minor gains on Bagnaia in the fight for third overall.
Augusto Fernandez brought the Yamaha V4 prototype home in 18th during its second wild-card appearance.
Although the MotoGP race began on time, the Moto2 Grand Prix has been moved to the end of the day due to delays caused by a serious accident on the sighting lap of the Moto3 Grand Prix.
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There will now be a weekend off before the 2025 season concludes with back-to-back rounds at Portimao and Valencia.
* Rookie
MotoGP arrived at Sepang in Malaysia fresh from an Aprilia double at Phillip Island – courtesy of Marco Bezzecchi and Raul Fernandez – but with Marc Marquez, Jorge Martin and Maverick Vinales still sidelined by injury.
Marc Marquez was again being replaced by Ducati test rider Michele Pirro, Martin by Aprilia test rider Lorenzo Savadori and Vinales by KTM test rider Pol Espargaro.
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Augusto Fernandez was also back this weekend to give the new Yamaha V4 its second wild-card appearance of the year, after a 14th place at Misano in mid-September.
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