MotoGP Malaysian GP: Alex Marquez takes dominant win, drama...

Alex Marquez scored a commanding victory in MotoGP’s Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday, while Ducati’s Francesco Bagnaia endured a late-race heartbreak while running in third position.

Having secured runner-up spot in the championship on Saturday, Marquez passed polesitter Bagnaia early on and then disappeared into the distance, proving why he was considered the pre-weekend favourite.

Pedro Acosta grabbed another podium position in second, while a mechanical problem denied Bagnaia a podium finish.

At the start of the race, Bagnaia made the perfect getaway from pole position to lead into Turn 1, while Acosta took full advantage of KTM’s superior launch control system to shoot past Marquez into Turn 1.

But Marquez kept Acosta within sight and repassed him immediately into Turn 4, preventing Bagnaia from running away in the front, as he had in Saturday’s sprint.

That move proved decisive early on, as Marquez grabbed the inside line into the right-hander on lap 2 to snatch the lead from Bagnaia.

Just a lap later, Acosta mirrored Marquez’s move on Bagnaia, but the factory Ducati rider cut back across him to reclaim the spot.

For the next phase of the race, Bagnaia and Acosta continued to run nose to tail, with Marquez pulling out a lead of around eight tenths at the front.

It wasn’t until lap 13 of 20 that Acosta was able to make a pass on Bagnaia, who was struggling on Michelin’s medium front, overtaking the Ducati on the brakes into Turn 4.

By this time, Marquez had checked out at the front on his Gresini Ducati, with his advantage doubling to over two seconds.