Daijiworld Media Network - Sepang
Sepang (Malaysia), Oct 31: Pedro Acosta clinched victory in a dramatic dry-to-wet Sprint race at the Sepang International Circuit on Saturday, while championship leader Marc Marquez strengthened his title advantage with a second-place finish.
Acosta emerged victorious after a thrilling four-way battle in the 10-lap Sprint, which was threatened by rain towards the closing stages. He finished 0.578 seconds ahead of Marquez, while Marco Bezzecchi secured third place. Ai Ogura, who had briefly led the race, slipped to fourth.
The result helped Marquez extend his championship lead over the absent Jorge Martin to 19 points after collecting nine points for his runner-up finish. Bezzecchi now trails the seven-time MotoGP world champion by 52 points after earning six points.
Alex Marquez started the Sprint from the front after outclassing his elder brother during qualifying. He maintained the lead until four laps remained before crashing at Turn 14.
Ogura inherited the lead, setting up an intense battle among the leading four riders.
As rain began to fall, race officials displayed the white flag, allowing riders to switch motorcycles equipped with tyres suited to the changing conditions. Iker Lecuona, Joan Mir and Franco Morbidelli opted to change their bikes, while Maverick Vinales made the switch later.
With three laps remaining, Acosta launched an attack on Ogura to take the lead. Ogura attempted to fight back but could not regain his position and was subsequently overtaken by Marquez and Bezzecchi as he struggled in the slightly wet conditions.
Meanwhile, Martin was ruled out of the remainder of the Malaysian Grand Prix weekend due to a fractured wrist.
In a statement, MotoGP said the 2024 champion and 2026 title contender had made a "superhuman effort" to return to racing just six days after breaking his wrist in Australia.
Martin returned to the Sepang circuit on Friday, completing 12 laps during the morning session and a few more in the afternoon before ending his day early to recover for Saturday.
However, after completing further track time during FP2 ahead of qualifying, it was confirmed that he had withdrawn from the event.
MotoGP said Martin would remain sidelined and target the next round for another attempt at returning to competition.