The MotoGP world title will be played in Valencia in the last race, on November 6. In the Malaysian GP, Pecco Bagnaia fulfilled his part of the script with his seventh victory of the season, but Fabio Quartararo put up a heroic resistance and with his third place he was able to delay the coronation and reach Cheste with a slim chance. With a 23-point advantage, the Ducati rider will be champion, adding only 2 points, in the event that the Frenchman wins. Aleix Espargaró, 10th, has run out of options.
"At least we take the fight to Valencia, although the chances are very small. Anything can happen. The first thing is that we have to win. I am very motivated," said a Quartararo who saved the first match ball in which he could lose his crown . The Frenchman had not made a podium since the summer.
Pecco Bagnaia's start was spectacular, tremendous: he jumped from the third row, ninth place, to second position upon reaching the first corner, slipping through the inside and quickly following the wheel of Jorge Martín, first from pole.
Fabio Quartararo was more awake this time, and from 12th place he moved to sixth at the start. Before the first lap, the Frenchman was already fifth, which prevented Pecco from being mathematically champion. He was ahead of Marc Márquez, fourth, and in podium position, Enea Bastianini, who had to act as Bagnaia's squire. The Devil's intention was to hook up with the trio that was chasing Martin, who had 7 tenths (v. 3/20).
Three Ducati commanded the Malaysian race. Although with very different goals. Martín was chasing his first victory, with no intention of letting Bagnaia pass him by, no matter how much Pecco's title was at stake. Without having won yet and hurt by being rejected by the official Ducati, the man from Madrid was not going to make it easy. And Bastianini, third, refrained from attacking, but he would not be a docile pilot either.
Quartararo took a step forward on lap 5/20 by moving up to fourth place overtaking Marc Márquez. The Honda rider opened up too much and the Frenchman took advantage of it to get fourth. He had Bastianini 2.5 seconds back. Far away, but it was essential to reach the podium to mathematically avoid Pecco's coronation. For his part, Bagnaia had the title just one overtake, Martín, whom he had 1.2s behind on lap 6/20.
The change of script came on lap 7 with the unexpected fall of Jorge Martín when he was leading comfortably, with 1.2 seconds, when he lost control of his Ducati. Automatically, Bagnaia took the lead, but he was not yet champion because Quartararo also moved up one position, third, so the Italian was 2 points short.
There were movements in the pursuing platoon. Bezzecchi was the pawn that Ducati had prepared as plan B. He overtook Márquez to get fourth and threaten Quartararo's podium. He had it 1.5 seconds back, with 13 laps to go. If he overtook the Frenchman, he would do his friend Bagnaia the great favor of his life. Everything remained between Italians as a family thing.
Quartararo was shooting in no man's land, third. Far from Bastianini, 3.3 seconds, and with only 1.2 seconds of margin over Bezzecchi, who was closing the distance on asphalt, with 10 laps to go.
But the race needed a little more sauce. The one that Enea Bastianini put on him when he overtook Bagnaia on lap 11. Automatically, Pecco's advantage was reduced to 18 points in the lead. The coronation was moving away from him. But, from behind, Bezzecchi was dangerously close to the Devil, only 5 tenths away.
With six laps to go, lap 14/20, Bagnaia turned the screw and regained the lead with a clean overtake on Bastianini. Winning the race he needed Quartararo not to finish on the podium. That largely depended on Bezzecchi, fourth, who was 6 tenths away with six laps to go. The Devil resisted in third place, with pain in his middle finger, fractured at the base of the phalanx due to the fall on Saturday. The Frenchman was approaching 1.5 seconds behind the two leading Italians, and was 1.3 seconds behind Bezzecchi, with 4 laps to go.
In the final stretch of the race, Quartararo held on to third place, distanced himself more than 2 seconds from Bezzecchi, and moved away the possibility of granting the coronation to Bagnaia, who with his victory and the 9 points he adds to the Frenchman has it all in order to be champion in the last race in Valencia: with a margin of 23 points, he only has to add 2 even if the Frenchman won.
Aleix Espargaró, 10th, was overtaken for third place in the championship by Bastianini, and runs out of mathematical options to fight for the title in the last race in Valencia, which will decide the MotoGP crown for the sixth time in history.
