The tension of witnessing the horrific accident in the Moto3 race warm-up, which involved Spaniard Rueda and Swiss rider Dettwiler, both of whom were taken to the hospital, and the joy of securing second place in the world championship yesterday didn't distract Alex Marquez, who brought another triumph to the Ducati Gresini team with a commanding victory at the Malaysian GP. Francesco Bagnaia was the favorite, starting from pole and aiming for a repeat after his victory in the sprint, but a puncture in the finale sidelined the Italian Ducati rider, once again plagued by bad luck in a nightmare season.

Thus, the MotoGP podium was all Hispanic, with KTM's Pedro Acosta finishing ahead of Honda's Joan Mir. "This weekend, I felt a bit too high expectations. I didn't start off on the right foot," admitted Marquez Jr., "but today we used a great strategy, attacking at the right moment. We did well to be patient and build this performance as best we could."

Alex's smiles certainly weren't reflected on Bagnaia's face, who was hoping for much more this Sunday. Starting well from pole, he soon found himself battling with Marquez, who overtook him on the second lap, taking the lead and proceeding unwaveringly to the finish line. Acosta then followed the Piedmontese rider, initially aggressive but then patient, perhaps having sensed from the Lenovo Ducati's movements that waiting would pay off. The pass for second place came shortly after the halfway point of the race, with Bagnaia still looking capable of holding onto his position for the podium, which however slipped away with three laps to go. The rear tire went flat, and Bagnaia had no choice but to return to the pits. An unwelcome retirement that also allowed Marco Bezzecchi, eleventh today for Aprilia in a less than stellar weekend, to overtake his compatriot for third place in the overall standings. Bagnaia, however, showed at Sepang that he has found a new feeling with the Desmosedici and that he can make a definitive change to the season, starting with the Portuguese GP scheduled for two weeks' time.

Franco Morbidelli (VR46), fourth, was the best Italian. Fifth place went to Frenchman Fabio Quartararo (Yamaha), ahead of Fabio Di Giannantonio (VR46), the first of a small group of Italians also including Enea Bastianini (KTM), seventh, and Luca Marini (Honda), eighth. Fermin Aldeguer, the recently named "Rookie of the Year" rider for Team Gresini, crashed. All the riders were worried about the Moto3 accident and the conditions of their colleagues involved.

MotoGP has shared reassuring news on social media about José Antonio Rueda: "Rider #99 is awake and alert, with a suspected fracture to his hand and several bruises." During the Moto3 warm-up, the Spaniard had violently collided with the bike of Swiss rider Noah Dettwiler, who, according to reports, has more serious injuries but is not in danger of dying.

The memory of Marco Simoncelli's tragic death in a crash during a MotoGP race in October 2011 is still vivid in Sepang. He was 24 years old. The accident also caused the Moto2 race, won by Britain's Jake Dixon, to be postponed. A crash by championship leader Manu Gonzalez allowed fifth-placed Brazilian Diogo Morerira to take the lead, overtaking the Spaniard.

(Unioneonline)

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