Alex Marquez won the Malaysian MotoGP sprint race on Saturday at Sepang ahead of championship rival duo Jorge Martin and Francesco Bagnaia, who saw his lead at the top cut to 11 points.

Spain’s Marquez romped home on his Ducati nearly 1.6 seconds ahead of compatriot Martin, who gained two points on Italy’s Bagnaia in their championship tussle with three races left.

It was a particularly disappointing afternoon for title-holder Bagnaia, who started on pole on his factory Ducati and led for half of the 10 laps, before slipping into a distant third.

Bagnaia, who smashed the Sepang lap record in qualifying to snatch pole from rival Martin for the sprint and Sunday’s race, made a clean start to retain his lead at the first corner.

Read full story on sport.timesofmalta.com

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