When Jorge Martin crashed from the lead of the Malaysian MotoGP, rookie Marco Bezzecchi found himself in the role of potential ‘kingmaker’ for Francesco Bagnaia.
Marc Marquez may have pulled off a miracle lap to put his Repsol Honda onto the front row of the Malaysian MotoGP grid, but it was a different story over race distance.
World championship leader Francesco Bagnaia may have qualified ahead of MotoGP title rivals Fabio Quartararo and Aleix Espargaro, but will only start ninth on the grid for potentially the biggest race of his career.
Ai Ogura took a crucial pole position, to give him space and rivals between himself and title rival Augusto Fernandez ahead of the Moto2 Malaysian Grand Prix.