Bagnaia wins Malaysian GP but Martin leads MotoGP standings

The penultimate race of the 2024 MotoGP season was a rollercoaster, with the championship at stake and a restart in the main race on Sunday due to a crash on the opening lap. Ultimately, Francesco Bagnaia (who crashed out in the Sprint) took the chequered flag ahead of championship leader Jorge Martin (who won the Sprint).

1. Martin leads the standings by 24 points
2. Marquez crashes out but rejoins to finish 12th
3. Quartararo finishes sixth, highest for a Japanese bike this season

MotoGP Malaysia: Opening lap incident

The original start of the 2024 Malaysian GP was nulled because of a collision involving both KTM riders – Jack Miller and Brad Binder – and Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo. All three riders were lucky enough to walk away without sustaining major injuries, but this incident resulted in the race being red-flagged and restarted.

Bagnaia vs Martin

Both the championship contenders fought tooth and nail for the lead in the challenging and sweltering-hot Malaysian GP. Ultimately, after about three laps of going back and forth, the championship leader, Martin, backed off and played it safe to finish second. Bagnaia kept running an almost unmatched pace at the front and ultimately took the chequered flag in first place, taking home his tenth victory this season. This also means that the title fight will roll on to the final round.

The only other rider on the grid who was able to match the Ducati GP24s of Bagnaia was, as usual, eight-time World Champion Marc Marquez. He was running in third place, just behind Martin, when he tucked the front and crashed. Rejoining as soon as he could, he could only manage to finish P12. This handed the final podium spot to Ducati’s Enea Bastianini, but Marquez did just enough to pass him for third place in the overall standings.

Top six finish for Yamaha

Quartararo followed up his fifth-place Sprint result with a sixth-place finish in the main race. This was despite suffering minor injuries in the opening lap incident with the two KTMs. In what was another positive step for Yamaha, Alex Rins finished eighth, two places behind his French teammate. 

2024 MotoGP standings

Martin is still in control of the championship, with a comfortable 24-point lead over Bagnaia. Despite his crash and owing to his 12th-place finish, Marquez is third in the standings, ahead of Bagnaia’s teammate Bastianini. The final round of the 2024 MotoGP season will likely be held at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya on November 15-17, following the cancellation of the Valencia round.

2024 Malaysian GP results