SEPANG: There was simply no stopping Francesco Bagnaia from Ducati Lenovo Team as the Italian romped to pole position and sprint victory in the PETRONAS Grand Prix of Malaysia today (Oct 25).
The double MotoGP world champion made it look easy to beat Spaniard Alex Marquez from Gresini Racing MotoGP by 2.2s, taking the chequered flag for sprint race in 19:53.72s.
The result also officially handed the Spaniard a one-two overall finish in the championship to make it a historic celebration for the Marquez family.
Alex Marquez has amassed 388 points and leads Bagnaia by 102 points.
Elder brother Marc Marquez has wrapped up the world title with an unassailable 545 points, but is not racing at Sepang this weekend to recover from injuries.
A total of 99 points are still up for grabs following the conclusion of the sprint race.
Bagnaia earlier had to go through Q1 to qualify on pole, clocking 1:57.001s.
Marquez was a close second (+0.16s) while Pertamina Enduro VR46's Franco Morbidelli of Italy (+0.158s) rounded out the front row.
