An energetic start to the Malaysian GP saw both Marc Marquez and Pol Espargaro settle into safe point-scoring positions on a Sunday full of risk.

Predicted thunderstorms did not arrive at the Sepang International Circuit and the 20-lap MotoGP race got underway as clouds filled the sky and the air hung heavy with humidity. From the front row of the grid, Marc Marquez made an impressive initial launch before losing positions into the tight and treacherous Turn 1.

The #93 sat with the leading group for the opening laps and protected his position in the top five. By lap seven he became entangled in a brawl with both Suzuki riders and Bezzecchi, the eight-time World Champion holding the trio off as Miller approached. Their battle for fifth place would carry on until the end of the race with Marquez crossing the line in seventh place, his fourth straight top-ten finish since returning from injury.

Further back, Pol Espargaro made an equally strong start to the race and immediately made up the ground lost due to his penalty from FP1. Like his teammate, Espargaro fought hard in the opening laps to protect his early gains and settled into his rhythm fighting for the remaining points. Taking the flag in 14th, the #44 leaves the flyaways with two more points and prepares for his swansong on the Honda RC213V in Valencia.

Race day was marked by the remembrance ceremony for Red Bull co-founder Dietrich Mateschitz who sadly passed away.

Now just a single race awaits before the demanding 2022 MotoGP World Championship season comes to an end. A final push for the Repsol Honda Team before preparations for the 2023 season fully consume the team and a chance to enjoy a final race with Pol Espargaro in Repsol Honda Team colours.

Marc Marquez

Seventh

“As I said yesterday, what we did in Qualifying was above and beyond and this is more or less what I was expecting from our race. We gave our 100% all race to achieve the best possible result, we started really well but I saw I didn’t have the speed to stay with the leaders. I tried to find my place and avoid taking any unneeded risks and get some good information from the race. I did everything that Honda asked me so I am optimistic they will use this information to improve in the future. Now we can start to prepare for Valencia after a difficult weekend, because here we could see the level of our bike. I think we can be closer in Valencia.”

Pol Espargaro

14th

“It was a hard one today, especially with the temperature. It was not as hot as in previous years but the humidity was really high all the same. We started in P20 and had to be aggressive in the first laps to make up some ground. Finally we were able to get two points here, gaining six places. Now the attention turns to Valencia where I have been strong in the past and I think it will suit our bike better.”

MotoGP 2022
Race Round 19   Malaysia

Malaysian Grand Prix - Race Results

Dry
Humidity
57%
Track Temp
38°C
Air Temp
31°C
Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor Time/Gap
1 Bagnaia Francesco 62 ITA 25 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 40'14.332
2 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA 20 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati 0.270
3 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA 16 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 2.773
4 Bezzecchi Marco 73 ITA 13 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati 5.446
5 Rins Alex 42 SPA 11 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 11.923
6 Miller Jack 43 AUS 10 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati 13.472
7 Marquez Marc 93 SPA 9 Repsol Honda Team Honda 14.304
8 Binder Brad 33 RSA 8 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 16.805
9 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 7 Pramac Racing Ducati 18.358
10 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA 6 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 21.591
11 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 5 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha 23.235
12 Crutchlow Cal 35 GBR 4 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha 24.641
13 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR 3 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM 24.918
14 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA 2 Repsol Honda Team Honda 25.586
15 Fernandez Raul SPA 1 27.039
16 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA 0 Aprilia Racing Aprilia 30.427
17 Marquez Alex 73 SPA 0 LCR Honda Honda 33.322
18 Gardner Remy AUS 0 33.691
19 Mir Joan 36 SPA 0 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki 41.838
20 Binder Darryn 40 RSA DNF WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha DNF
21 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA DNF Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati DNF
22 Martin Jorge 89 SPA DNF Pramac Racing Ducati DNF
23 Nagashima Tetsuta 45 JPN DNF LCR Honda Honda DNF
24 Marini Luca 10 ITA DNF Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati DNF
MotoGP 2022

Rider standings

Pos. Rider Num Nation Points Team Constructor
1 Bagnaia Francesco 62 ITA 258 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
2 Quartararo Fabio 20 FRA 235 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
3 Espargaro Aleix 41 SPA 212 Aprilia Racing Aprilia
4 Bastianini Enea 23 ITA 211 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
5 Miller Jack 43 AUS 189 Ducati Lenovo Team Ducati
6 Binder Brad 33 RSA 168 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
7 Zarco Johann 5 FRA 166 Pramac Racing Ducati
8 Rins Alex 42 SPA 148 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
9 Oliveira Miguel 88 POR 138 Red Bull KTM Factory Racing KTM
10 Martin Jorge 89 SPA 136 Pramac Racing Ducati
11 Vinales Maverick 12 SPA 122 Aprilia Racing Aprilia
12 Marquez Marc 93 SPA 113 Repsol Honda Team Honda
13 Marini Luca 10 ITA 111 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
14 Bezzecchi Marco 73 ITA 106 Mooney VR46 Racing Team Ducati
15 Mir Joan 36 SPA 77 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
16 Espargaro Pol 44 SPA 56 Repsol Honda Team Honda
17 Marquez Alex 73 SPA 50 LCR Honda Honda
18 Nakagami Takaaki 30 JPN 46 LCR Honda Honda
19 Morbidelli Franco 21 ITA 36 Monster Energy Yamaha MotoGP Yamaha
20 Di Giannantonio Fabio 49 ITA 23 Team Gresini Racing MotoGP Ducati
21 Dovizioso Andrea 4 ITA 15 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha
22 Binder Darryn 40 RSA 12 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha
23 Gardner Remy AUS 10
24 Fernandez Raul SPA 10
25 Crutchlow Cal 35 GBR 10 WithU Yamaha RNF MotoGP Team Yamaha
26 Bradl Stefan 6 GER 2 HRC Test Team Honda
27 Pirro Michele ITA 0
28 Savadori Lorenzo 32 ITA 0 Aprilia Racing Test Team Aprilia
29 Nagashima Tetsuta 45 JPN 0 LCR Honda Honda
30 Petrucci Danilo 9 ITA 0 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
31 Watanabe Kazuki 92 JPN 0 Team Suzuki Ecstar Suzuki
32 Tsuda Takuya JPN 0
Location Information

Specifically built for speed and exciting racing, the Sepang International Circuit in Malaysia is one of the world’s best. The 2,300 acre complex cost around £50m to construct and was built in just 14 months, holding its first Grand Prix in April 1999 and setting the standard for race circuits… read more.

Length 5.543 kilometres / 3.444 miles
Width 25 metres
Left corners 5
Right corners 10
Longest straight 0.920 kilometres / 0.572 miles
Constructed 1998

Sepang International Circuit Klia Pahang Malaysia - View in Google Maps

Records

Pole Position 1m 57.491s (169.8km/h) Francesco Bagnaia (Ducati, 2023)
Race Lap 1m 58.979s (167.7km/h) Alex Marquez (Ducati, 2023)
2023 Race Winner Enea Bastianini (Ducati)
2023 Sprint Winner Alex Marquez (Ducati)