Ducati
Rider Andrea Dovizioso took victory in the Malaysian Grand Prix to become the ninth
different race winner in MotoGP this season. Dovizioso, 30, started from pole
after the race in Sepang had been delayed by rain, but dropped to third early
on. He overhauled fellow Italian Valentino Rossi for the lead with five laps
left after Rossi ran wide and pushed home his advantage. It was only his second
MotoGP victory in 159 races.
Rossi
finished second ahead of Spaniard Jorge Lorenzo to secure runners-up spot in
the championship, while Spanish world champion Marc Marquez, who had been
hampered by illness over the past few days, crashed out of fourth place during
the race and eventually finished 11th. Dovizioso made his charge with
six laps remaining, surging into the lead as Rossi faded with a worn front
tyre. He left the nine-time world champion in his wake, Dovizioso extending his
advantage with each and every lap.
Easing
off on the final tour, Dovizioso crossed the line 3.1 seconds ahead to secure
both his second career MotoGP race win — his first since 2009 and first for
Ducati — and Ducati’s first multi-win season since 2010. Jorge Lorenzo
came home third after a steady race, leading the early corners before slipping
into a steady rhythm that kept him upright to the finish — a story many of
those ahead of him were unable to tell at race’s end.
Jack
Miller led the second group in the early laps before sliding back to eighth at the
finish — the first Honda home — with Pol Espargaro and Danilo Petrucci rounding
out the top 10. Marquez was next from Eugene Laverty; Aleix Espargaro 13th
after an off-track excursion took him out of the lead group in the early laps,
with Bradley Smith and Scott Redding rounding out the point scorers in 14th and
15th. Hiroshi Aoyama, Stefan Bradl and Tito Rabat were the only other
finishers.
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