2025 Malaysian MotoGP: Pecco Bagnaia dominates sprint from Alex Marquez
Pecco Bagnaia converted pole to a second sprint win of 2025
Ducati’s Pecco Bagnaia converted pole to a dominant sprint victory at the 2025 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix, as Alex Marquez secured second in the championship.
After a difficult Friday at Sepang saw him drop out of the Q2 places, the double world champion bounced back in a big way on Saturday.
Going from Q1 to pole, Pecco Bagnaia then took control of the 10-lap sprint to score his second Saturday victory of the season by 2.259s.
Alex Marquez resisted early pressure from KTM’s Pedro Acosta to finish second for Gresini Ducati, which secures him runner-up spot in the 2025 standings.
Team-mate Fermin Aldeguer came through from sixth on the grid to take a late podium from Acosta, though is under threat of an eight-second penalty for a tyre pressure infringement.
Bagnaia grabbed the lead from pole on the run to Turn 1 at the start, with Marquez and Acosta slotting in behind.
Marquez very briefly lost second to Acosta at the end of the opening lap, while Bagnaia opened up an advantage of 0.8s after the first two tours.
And that march at the front only continued for the factory Ducati rider, whose lead was up to 1.4s by the start of lap four.
Bagnaia came under no threat as he cruised to the chequered flag.
Marquez eventually broke free of Acosta, who suffered tyre wear woes in the second half of the sprint on his factory KTM.
This proved enough for him to secure second in the standings, marking his highest championship finish ever in MotoGP.
Gresini team-mate Aldeguer put an easy move on Acosta into Turn 9 on lap eight of 10 to move into third and closed Marquez down to a gap of 0.879s.
But his third-place finish is being investigated for a potential tyre pressure infringement.
An eight-second penalty would drop him to eighth. However, this would still secure him rookie of the year.
Acosta was 2.017s behind Aldeguer at the chequered flag in fourth, while VR46’s Franco Morbidelli slumped from the front row to fifth ahead of Yamaha’s Fabio Quartararo.
Marco Bezzecchi was seventh from 14th on the grid on the factory Aprilia, while LCR Honda’s Johann Zarco and Tech3 KTM’s Enea Bastianini took the final points down to ninth.
Honda’s Joan Mir was involved in the podium fight in the first half of the sprint, but crashed at Turn 9 on lap five.
Team-mate Luca Marini would also be denied points late on after a tangle involving Tech3’s Pol Espargaro.
Espargaro took the chequered flag in 11th. The stewards decided to take no further action on this incident.
Pramac Yamaha’s Miguel Oliveira was the only other faller in the sprint.
Full 2025 MotoGP Malaysian Grand Prix sprint results
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