Defending champion Francesco Bagnaia kept alive his hopes of retaining his MotoGP title by winning the Malaysian Grand Prix ahead of rival Jorge Martin.
Bagnaia – a two-time title winner – finished three seconds in front of the Spaniard to win his 10th GP of the season. The Italian’s victory means the championship will be decided by the final race of the season, with Martin holding a 24-point advantage.
Martin, 26, could have sealed his first championship had he finished nine points ahead of Bagnaia, and he traded the lead with the Italian several times over the early laps before placing second.
An early crash on turn two led to the race being red-flagged after a coming-together between Brad Binder, Jack Miller and Fabio Quartararo.
Miller received trackside medical assistance but suffered no serious injury, while Binder was unable to restart the race.
Six-time champion Marc Marquez was set for a podium finish in third before crashing out, gifting his spot to Enea Bastianini and finishing 12th.
The final race was due to be held in Valencia on 15 November but has been cancelled because of flooding in the area. A request has been made for the final race to be scheduled in Barcelona.
