Prima Pramac Racing's Jorge Martin celebrates after winning the MotoGP sprint. MotoGP - Malaysian Grand Prix - Sepang International Circuit, Sepang, Malaysia - on Saturday, November 3, 2024. - Reuters
SEPANG, Malaysia (Reuters): Jorge Martin put himself within touching distance of the MotoGP championship after a sprint victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Saturday, increasing his lead over Francesco Bagnaia in the standings to 29 points after the Ducati rider crashed out.
Gresini Racing's Marc Marquez finished second in Sepang, while Bagnaia's teammate Enea Bastianini rounded out the podium.
Martin (Pramac Racing) is on 465 points in the drivers' standings heading into the season's penultimate race in Malaysia on Sunday, while Bagnaia is second on 436.
The race began under dark clouds at the Sepang International Circuit and race directors waved the white flag before the start amid light showers, allowing riders to swap their bikes.
Martin's bid for the title this season has been powered by his penchant for perfect starts. The Spaniard once again had a dream launch, holding the inside line to surge past polesitter Bagnaia into the lead on the first turn.
"It has been an amazing weekend so far. Today was a difficult race, actually. I started very well," Martin said, adding that he did well to hold off Marquez after Bagnaia crashed.
"Bagnaia and Marc were very, very close. As soon as I saw Bagnaia crash, I just controlled the gap. Marc was catching me, so I had to be really, really precise, really focused.
"It was easy to make a mistake today. Tomorrow will be similar. So (I'm keeping my) head down."
Bagnaia, who set a lap record to take pole earlier on Saturday, did his best to force his way back into the lead but lost his front end in the third lap as he headed into turn nine and crashed.
The two-times champion found himself in the gravel. Realising the gravity of his error, he held his head in his hands as his shot at winning the championship all but slipped away.
Martin can secure the championship on Sunday with a weekend to go if he is able to outscore Bagnaia by nine points or more in the race.
VR46 Racing Team stand-in Andrea Iannone, competing for the first time since 2019 after completing a four-year doping ban, finished second to last in Saturday's sprint.
Second-placed Marquez paid tribute to the victims of catastrophic flooding in Spain, adding: "I dedicate this podium to all the community of Valencia.
"They are in a very hard moment and we support them."
The season-ending Nov. 15-17 race was scheduled to be staged in Valencia, but MotoGP on Friday cancelled the race and said it would announce a new venue and date. - (Reporting by Aadi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
