Martin wins Malaysia Tissot Sprint as Bagnaia crashes out
Words and images courtesy MGP
The Tissot Sprint at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia was always going to be pivotal. How pivotal was to be decided over 10 laps of technical racetrack shared by 22 riders in the searing heat, two of whom are fighting it out to be crowned 2024 Champion. In the dance of risk and reward, points leader Jorge Martin (Prima Pramac Racing) took off at the front to lay down the gauntlet. And as he so rarely has when under pressure, reigning Champion Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati Lenovo Team) took just that tiny bit too much risk as he slid out from second. Now, it’s 29 points at the top… and it could all come down to Sunday.
Behind that drama, Marc Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) came home second after keeping Martin honest following Bagnaia’s crash, with Enea Bastianini (Ducati Lenovo Team) completing the podium.
The tension rose even more following a brief spattering of raindrops, but as the grid roared off, the track was dry and Martin got the jump from second on the grid, nabbing the inside as Bagnaia hung it round the outside. But the #1 had to concede into Turn 2 and they shot off at the front together as the shuffle settled, with Marc Marquez for close company.
Just behind, Alex Marquez (Gresini Racing MotoGP) had dropped back from the front row and was squabbling with Franco Morbidelli (Prima Prama Racing) for fifth, with Bastianini having leapfrogged them into fourth. Fabio Quartararo (Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP) was soon up into that mix too, off the mark quick and with the speed to go with it.
Meanwhile at the front, the leading trio pounded on. Martin was setting some serious space, with the #1 and #93 in hot pursuit. And then it happened – the moment that may have decided the 2024 MotoGP World Championship. Or certainty one of them.
As Martin pushed on, Bagnaia had no choice but to push just as hard – with a 17-point deficit on the way into the Sprint. That then suddenly became a potential 29 as the reigning Champion slid out in one of the lowest speed, highest stakes crashes in recent memory. Rider ok, Bagnaia was forced to watch on as Martin kept Marquez at bay at the front, likely cheering for the #93 for the first time in his life.
Martin did keep him at bay, however, never letting the Gresini machine really home in over the seven laps between the him and that 29-point advantage. The #89 kept it calm to cross the line with just under a second in hand, setting up his first ever outright Championship point in MotoGP. Marc Marquez took second, keeping some pressure on but not able to really cut that lead.
Bastianini’s quick start and good pace rewarded him with third after he proved able to pull away from Alex Marquez, with the #73 taking P4. Just behind him came Quartararo after a stunning Saturday afternoon for El Diablo, taking his and Yamaha’s best result of the season in a Sprint or GP, equalling the P5 from Jerez on Saturday.
Morbidelli was forced to settle for sixth, ahead of Brad Binder (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) at the head of a KTM/GASGAS showdown – with Jack Miller (Red Bull KTM Factory Racing) just able to stay ahead of Pedro Acosta (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) this time round, returning the favour from Buriram. Marco Bezzecchi (Pertamina Enduro VR46 Racing Team) missed out on the final Sprint point by just seven tenths.
Was that the moment that decided the crown? After racing for 678 points, every moment has its sway. But in the final stint they decide when and where that ultimate prize is on the line, and in 2024 that will now be Sunday at the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia.
MOTO2
A replacement rider pinching pole position doesn’t happen very often – but it has today! A brilliant all-time lap record in Sepang from Jorge Navarro (OnlyFans American Racing Team) saw the Spaniard claim a Saturday afternoon P1, as OnlyFans American Racing Team celebrate a Q2 1-2 as Marcos Ramirez secured a P2 start. A late flying lap from Celestino Vietti (Red Bull KTM Ajo) saw the Italian grab a front row start for Sunday’s encounter.
Albert Arenas (Gresini Moto2) was the rider to get demoted from P3 following Vietti’s late lap, so the Practice pacesetter will have to settle for a P4 starting slot. Rookie Deniz Öncü (Red Bull KTM Ajo) and Tony Arbolino (Elf Marc VDS Racing Team) are the other two riders who will set off from the second row.
World Champion Ai Ogura (MT Helmets – MSI) qualified seventh, while second in the Championship Aron Canet (Fantic Racing) will hope to clinch the 2024 silver medal from P13 on the grid. Luckily for the #44, his two main challengers – Alonso Lopez (Sync SpeedUp) and Sergio Garcia (MT Helmets – MSI) – failed to make it out of Q1 and will start from P20 and P19 respectively.
MOTO3
Adrian Fernandez (Leopard Racing) stole the Q2 show in Sepang after the Spaniard left it late to land a sensational all-time lap record – a 2:09.542 – and a debut Grand Prix pole. That time saw pole position snatched from Ivan Ortola’s (MT Helmets – MSI) grasp as the #48 settles for P2, while World Champion David Alonso (CFMOTO Gaviota Aspar Team) lines up on the outside of the front row in third.
Tatsuki Suzuki (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) spearheads the second row of the grid, with the Japanese rider joined on Row 2 by Q1 graduate Joel Kelso (BOE Motorsports) and SIC58 Squadra Corse’s Luca Lunetta.
Angel Piqueras (Leopard Racing) will aim to wrap up the Rookie of the Year crown from P7 after the #36 crashed at Turn 1 in the closing stages of qualifying. Collin Veijer (Liqui Moly Husqvarna Intact GP) hunts a podium in his quest to beat Daniel Holgado (Red Bull GASGAS Tech3) to P2 overall, as the latter launches from P11.
