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Championship winner Marc Marquez bagged his 9th win of the season at Sepang Circuit in Malaysia. Factory Suzuki rider Alex Rins finished 1.8 sec behind Marquez in the second place. Yamaha Tech3 rider Johann Zarco finished third to complete the podium in the Malaysian GP.
Things seemed so close yet so far for Valentino Rossi once again today. 'The doctor' had managed to qualify in the 3rd place yesterday. He made a decent start today from the middle of the grid and squeezed through Johann Zarco in at the first place. He led the race for most of the laps until crashing in the lap-16 of the 20-lap race.
Rossi was in excellent rhythm and was able to keep Marquez at bay with just over 1s lead for more than 10 laps. Ultimately Rossi lost the front of his YZR-M1 out of Turn-1 to crash and missed on the best opportunity to end his winless streak. However, Marquez benefited and picked his win to extend his lead on Andrea Dovizioso. It was the 70th win of his career.
Marquez had earlier emerged the fastest in the qualifyings last day but he was penalized and started from seventh on the grid today. The incident with Andrea Iannone saw him slapped with six positions penalty for irresponsible riding, being slow on the racing line and disturbing another rider.
Valentino Rossi's former teammate Jorge Lorenzo didn't shy from lauding his efforts in hot and challenging conditions.
Maverick Vinales started from the 11th position on the grid. He had set a faster pace in the warm-up this morning and continued his form in the race. He gradually rose up the ranks only to finish at the 4th place. He was followed by Dani Pedrosa in at the 5th place, who was racing in his last Malaysia GP.
Andrea Dovizioso had a subdued race as he finished in at the 6th place after starting from the 5th position on the grid. However, Rossi's crash with 4 laps to go brought him some relief as he sealed the 2nd spot in the championship.
Alvaro Bautista, who finished at the 7th place, managed to hold on to the lead ahead of Australian rider Jack Miller. Behind Jack Miller, his teammate and Ducati Pramac rider Danilo Petrucci finished at the 9th place. Yamaha Tech3 rider Hafizh Syahrin probably rode the best of the lot as he finished 10th after starting from 23rd on the grid.
Race Results
