2022 Malaysian MotoGP, Sepang Circuit - Race Results

Francesco Bagnaia wins the Malaysian MotoGP at Sepang to put one hand on the 2022 world championship title.

The Ducati rider will take a 23-point lead over Fabio Quartararo into the Valencia finale, after third-place for the reigning champion.

A strong start and brave braking saw Bagnaia rocket from ninth to second at Turn 1, which became the race lead when Jorge Martin crashed out on lap 7 of 20.

But future team-mate Enea Bastianini was crawling all over Bagnaia's red machine and took the lead at the midway stage.

Bagnaia fought back and just kept The Beast at bay, while Quartararo put on a late charge to edge closer to the race leaders.

Bastianini, like Aleix Espargaro (tenth), has now been officially eliminated from the world championship battle.

• Sepang: New 2022 MotoGP World Championship standings

Starting just ninth (Bagnaia), tenth (Espargaro) and twelfth (Quartararo) after a dramatic Saturday in which all three fell and Quartararo fractured a finger, Bagnaia got the start of his dreams - slicing past his rivals the brakes to slot into second behind Martin at Turn 1!

Quartararo also made early ground for seventh, which soon became fifth by passing Joan Mir and team-mate Franco Morbidelli, while Espargaro remained at the end of the top ten, where he would finish.

Up front, Martin was confidently setting the pace, with Bastianini looking impatient behind Bagnaia and Quartararo likewise eager to pass Marc Marquez.

That occurred on lap 5 of 20, after Marquez had repeatedly run wide, but the Frenchman now 2.5s behind Bastianini.

While the Monster Yamaha rider was soon able to escape from Marquez, who had the Suzukis of Joan Mir and Alex Rins on his tail, Quartararo struggled to reel in Bastianini.

Martin made his big mistake on lap 7 of 20, throwing away a 1.2s lead and potential first victory of the season.

That meant Bagnaia and Bastianini were now fighting for victory, with Quartararo promoted to third but being caught by another Ducati rider, Marco Bezzecchi, the fastest rider on track.

If Bagnaia held off Bastianini for victory, with Bezzecchi passing Quartararo for third, the title fight would be over.

But a glitch in Ducati’s Sepang title celebrations then came in the form of a pass by Bastianini, who snatched the lead from Bagnaia on the brakes at Turn 4, with 10 laps to go.

Time for team orders?

Stern discussions took place between Gigi Dall’Igna, Paolo Ciabatti and Davide Tardozzi, surely over team orders, but Bagnaia took things into his own hands by re-passing Bastianini at the final corner to lead again with 7 laps to go.

No obvious 'mapping 8' style instructions were given and Bastianini kept the pressure on Bagnaia, while Quartararo - having broken the challenge of Bezzecchi - began closing on the leaders in the final laps.

Quartararo got to within 1.7s, but ultimately the reigning champion’s Yamaha didn’t have the pace to reach the leaders and his only hope was a tangle between the Italians.

Bastianini, who overtook Bagnaia on the last in Aragon, was just 0.131s behind as the last lap began, the Gresini rider repeating his Misano moment by almost tagging the back of Bagnaia at Turn 9.

But Bagnaia held firm and took his seventh win of the season by 0.270s.

Quartararo was classified 2.5s from victory, with Bezzecchi less than two-seconds behind, while Alex Rins and Jack Miller got the better of Marc Marquez to leave the Repsol Honda rider seventh.

Rins' team-mate Joan Mir ran off track and out of the battle.

Morbidelli, after serving a double long-lap penalty, was in further trouble when he bumped past Aleix Espargaro on the last lap and was demoted a position.

A technical problem with the front holeshot device saw Luca Marini fail to finish a MotoGP race for the first time in his premier-class career.

After a damp warm-up, the race took place in dry conditions, in front of 88,000 fans, with all riders on the medium front and soft rear tyres.

A minute of applause was held on the grid in memory of Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz.

• Malaysian Moto2 Grand Prix, Sepang - Race Results
• Malaysian Moto3 Grand Prix, Sepang - Race Results

Alex Marquez had a long lap penalty to serve for colliding with Jack Miller at Phillip Island last weekend.

Morbidelli received his double long-lap for disturbing Bagnaia and Marc Marquez in FP3: "This is now the third time this season you have been observed riding slow on line and disturbing other riders," read a statement from the FIM MotoGP Stewards.

Pol Espargaro was given a three-place grid penalty for 're-joining the track unsafely and creating a dangerous situation for another rider' (Johann Zarco) in FP1.

The Valencia finale takes place on November 4-6.