Safe points for the Repsol Honda Team in Sepang
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
“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
“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.”
Malaysian Grand Prix - Race Results
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 |
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) |