SEPANG, Malaysia — Francesco Bagnaia kept his competitors at bay to win the penultimate race of the MotoGP season — the Petronas Grand Prix of Malaysia at Sepang Int’l Circuit.
The Ducati Lenovo Team rider held off Enea Bastianini (Gresini Racing MotoGP) to claim his seventh victory of the season.
Reigning world champion Fabio Quartararo rode his Monster Energy Yamaha to a splendid third-place finish and kept his championship hopes alive heading into the season finale at Valencia, Spain.
Bagnaia leads Quartararo by 23 points entering the finale.
Marco Bezzecchi finished fourth for Mooney VR46 Racing, while Team Suzuki Ecstar’s Alex Rins rounded out the top five.
By riding from 14th to sixth, Jack Miller helped secure the manufacturers’ title for the Ducati Lenovo Team.